Poet Te Hanh and the poem 'Old Garden'

2026 will mark the 105th anniversary of the birth of poet Te Hanh. On this occasion, the memorial site of poet Te Hanh named 'Old Garden' will probably be inaugurated. The memorial garden with an area of ​​440 m2 is located next to Tra Bong River, the river that appeared in Te Hanh's immortal poem 'Remembering the River of the Homeland'.

Old Garden is a famous poem with a rather strange fate by Te Hanh. During the years I was in the Southern war zone jungle, thanks to the "Nguyen Van Linh Bookcase", I was able to read many works by Saigon writers.

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There was a novel by the writer Tuy Hong, a famous writer in Saigon that I read, halfway through the book I suddenly came across… Yes, I came across a poem by the poet Te Hanh, who was in Hanoi at that time, the poem Vuon Xua was originally included by the writer Tuy Hong in her novel. Surely, only because Tuy Hong loved this poem, and she did not hesitate to include it in her novel, even though Te Hanh was in Hanoi , participating in the Vietnam Writers Association . I was surprised to the point of being stunned, for two reasons: this was the poem I read for the first time, and it was read from a novel by a writer in Saigon.

Since then, the female writer Tuy Hong has shown the spirit of "National reconciliation and harmony" in literature when writing this very interesting story. Vuon Xua is a very good poem that bears Te Hanh's creative personality. Please notice how sweet the word "work" Te Hanh put into the poem! This is a love poem, not a political propaganda poem. Who knows, it was the word "work" that was strange to the people of Saigon that made Tuy Hong excited, and she chose this poem to include in her novel. I would like to introduce to readers Te Hanh's very good poem Vuon Xua :

Old garden

The old garden trees are greener every day,

The old mother's hair is turning gray every day.

We are at opposite ends of the work,

Will we ever return to the old garden?

We are like sunny days avoiding rainy days,

As the sun and moon are separated,

Like the morning and evening stars not being together,

Will we ever return to the old garden?

We are like lotus in summer, chrysanthemum in autumn,

Like October roses, May longans;

I follow the birds I go home in August,

He followed the bird through March.

One spring day I returned home,

Hearing mother say you are coming home, I picked guava.

I looked up at the tree canopy blowing in the wind,

Leaves like lips whispering to call him back.

The next time he returned one summer day,

I heard your mother said you were home, washing clothes by the well.

He looked at the well, the well was deep and clear,

Water like a mirror reflects his lonely image...

The old garden trees are greener every day,

The old mother's hair is turning gray every day.

We are at opposite ends of the work,

Will we ever return to the old garden...

1957

The poetics of this poem is like a game of tag, between the author and his wife, when you come back, I go, and when you go, I come back, the two do not meet but the natural garden always witnesses their love. "We are at two ends of work/Will we ever return to the old garden together", the word "work" is repeated twice in this short poem. Te Hanh's poetry is simple but full of love, full of emotions like that. So it is not surprising that his poetry conquers a large number of Vietnamese readers. He is one of the few most loved Vietnamese poets. And among them, there is a Saigon writer, female writer Tuy Hong.

As for me, a few years ago I proposed to the leadership of Binh Son district and Binh Duong commune (Te Hanh's hometown) to build a memorial site for poet Te Hanh called "Old Garden". When the land was available, the people of Binh Son and Binh Duong were filled with love for their hometown poet, but... money had not been raised yet, so the memorial site had to be temporarily suspended.

Now, the 105th anniversary of Te Hanh's birth is approaching, and fortunately, the opportunity to raise funds to build the "Old Garden" memorial site has appeared.

Hopefully, in June 2026, on Te Hanh's birthday, this memorial area will be inaugurated.

And "The Old Garden" will forever have a place of honor in the hearts of Quang Ngai people and Vietnamese people.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nha-tho-te-hanh-va-bai-tho-vuon-xua-185251010104344527.htm