“The South is in my heart…” - Uncle Ho’s saying during his lifetime clearly expressed his deep affection for the people and soldiers of the South, and the people and soldiers of the South also devoted their faith and longing to the beloved President Ho Chi Minh . Recording that sacred affection, many poets wrote emotional verses.
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| Uncle Ho takes care of the star apple tree given by the people of the South. Photo: Archive. |
On June 5, 1911, at Nha Rong Wharf, the young man Nguyen Tat Thanh, nicknamed Van Ba, applied to be a kitchen assistant on the ship Amiral Latouche Treville leaving Saigon, starting his journey to find a way to save the country. That journey lasted 30 years, through 4 continents with nearly 30 countries around the world to find a way for the Vietnamese people. In the spring of 1941, he returned to his homeland and the mountains and forests of Pac Bo (Cao Bang province) welcomed his footsteps. In 1946, after the Fontainebleau conference (from July 6, 1946 to September 10, 1946) ended but did not achieve the expected results, President Ho Chi Minh negotiated and signed with the representative of the French Government the Provisional Agreement of September 14, 1946. Just one day later, the French High Commissioner in Vietnam, D'Argenlieu, sent a telegram inviting President Ho Chi Minh to meet at Cam Ranh Bay on his way back from France to discuss the implementation of the provisional agreement. On October 18, 1946, Uncle Ho arrived at Cam Ranh Bay. History records that Cam Ranh Bay was the last place where Uncle Ho appeared in a Southern locality. During the time that followed, Uncle Ho always felt a deep longing and affection for the people of the South, still thinking, "The South is always in my heart...".
Depicting that sacred and noble sentiment of Uncle Ho, poet To Huu wrote: “Uncle misses the South like he misses home/The South misses Uncle like he misses his father” . The verse encapsulates Uncle Ho’s sentiment for the people and soldiers of the South and the people and soldiers of the South for Uncle Ho. It is not only the simple sentiment of a leader for the people, but also the sentiment of a close-knit family. Also recording Uncle Ho’s deep and unceasing nostalgia for the South, poet Nguyen Xuan Sanh in the poem The South has lines expressing his genuine sentiments: “Every night Uncle dreams of the Fatherland/Every day he misses the Mekong River/His heart flies to the mangrove canal area/The Bach Dang trees are reborn in the century… ”. Poet Quoc Tan in the poem The Star Apple Tree in Uncle Ho’s Garden has a different perspective. From Uncle Ho's simple act of taking care of the star apple tree given by the people of the South, the poet showed everyone his great affection for the South: "Fifteen years... every morning and evening/Uncle Ho took care of and cherished each branch/The tree grew stronger, the leaves grew greener/Like the South growing and blooming..." .
In response to Uncle Ho's affection, the people and soldiers of the South also turned to him with longing and aspiration as the poet To Huu once wrote: "The South is winning, dreaming of a festival day/Welcoming Uncle Ho to visit, seeing Uncle Ho smile!" . In 1945, from the Mekong Delta, poet Bao Dinh Giang wrote a poem praising Uncle Ho: "The most beautiful lotus flower in Thap Muoi/Vietnam is most beautiful with the name of Uncle Ho ". The deep emotions towards Uncle Ho were expressed by poet Thanh Hai in the poem I Miss Uncle Ho : "Uncle, even though we are far away from the mountains/Your image is still in our hearts/The enemy wants to cut off the country/But the South still turns to Uncle Ho..." .
Also a Southern poet who grew up during the anti-American resistance war, poet Vien Phuong, during his visit to the North in 1976, could not help but be moved to express the sincere and lingering feelings of a Southern child towards Uncle Ho when visiting his mausoleum : "Tomorrow when I return to the South, my eyes will fill with tears/I want to be a bird singing around Uncle Ho's mausoleum/I want to be a flower spreading fragrance here and there/I want to be a loyal bamboo tree here and there..." .
The South went first and came last, the homeland citadel with simple, affectionate, and meaningful people who devoted all their feelings to Uncle Ho. Many beautiful stories about Uncle Ho's words and actions towards the people and soldiers of the South are still being passed down. Poets, with their talent and feelings, have portrayed that sacred feeling. So that today and tomorrow, we can always feel Uncle Ho's feelings for the South, the South for Uncle Ho through artistic images and emotional words.
Giang Dinh
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