Poems celebrating independence

The first worker-peasant state in Southeast Asia was established. The name "Vietnam" resonated with excitement and pride, sparking inspiration for poetry, music, and art—new, intense, and vibrant, transforming the country's culture and arts. From then on, our literature was left with only one movement: revolutionary literature.
Poets, being the most sensitive people, have expressed for us so many thoughts, joys, sorrows, anxieties, and dreams and hopes for a bright future for a new Vietnam. The overarching inspiration in revolutionary poetry is the joy, passion, and fervor at the "rebirth" of the nation. Xuan Dieu was the poet who celebrated more than any other romantic poet of that time:

There is a stream of poetry flowing from the intimate.
Going far away, then coming back closer.
(Source: New Poetry)

Or "The land and water are full of vitality / The rice seedlings are still sprouting vigorously" (Countryside). Before the August Revolution, Xuan Dieu was a poet who always yearned for passionate love, loved life, and longed for connection with the world. More than two months after Independence, on November 30, 1945, Xuan Dieu completed his epic poem "The National Flag," and through the sacred symbol of the red flag with a yellow star of the Fatherland, the poet joyfully welcomed Vietnam with verses full of vitality:

The wind is howling! The wind is howling, the Vietnamese wind is howling!
... Vietnam! Vietnam! The red flag with a yellow star!
Chest-puffing breathing on Independence Day
New resources are pouring in from all directions.

Xuan Dieu depicted the nation's struggle for independence "under the red flag with a golden star." The flag was everywhere, flying high throughout the country: "In just a few days, Vietnam was all vibrant / Throughout Vietnam, flags rose with the people's hearts." The flag lifted the footsteps of countless soldiers, evoking the aspirations of the army, giving them the strength to overcome all hardships and dangers, and achieve victory: "Hold the flag with the glittering golden star / The flag is like an eye open, keeping watch all night / Like a fire burning forever on the mountain peak."

In early 1946, Xuan Dieu completed his second epic poem, "The National Assembly," to praise the first National Assembly of Vietnam, elected by the people. The author compared it to the Dien Hong Conference of the Tran Dynasty, affirming the unity and solidarity of the entire nation in its determination to fight to protect the newly won independence and the young Vietnam. "The National Assembly" extended its arms to welcome countless people, armed with knives and guns, to build and defend the first independent Vietnamese state. In addition, Xuan Dieu wrote other poems such as "A Demonstration," "The General... Non-Strike," etc., to criticize and satirize the Vietnamese traitors and collaborators who were undermining the fledgling government.

Poet To Huu - the leading figure of Vietnamese revolutionary poetry - joyfully welcomed the August Revolution in his homeland with his poem " Hue in August," written with romantic inspiration, overflowing with ecstatic joy, recording the momentous events:

Flat chest for four thousand years, strong wind this afternoon.
Inflate it. The heart suddenly becomes the sun.
There's a bird in my hair hopping and singing.

A year later, To Huu continued writing poems such as "Endless Joy," "Killing the Enemy," "My School," and " Ho Chi Minh ," expressing his belief in the future of Vietnam under the brilliant leadership of our beloved Uncle Ho.

Nguyen Dinh Thi also felt an overwhelming joy at the liberation of the land and sky, at the sight of the red flag with a yellow star fluttering in the wind:

Cheers and shouts filled the air as red flags blazed in the trees.
A fleeting glimpse of a golden star, swaying gently...

Known for his romantic poetry with its complex verses about love between couples, the revolutionary atmosphere has given Tham Tam's poetry a new color, a perception of the country and nation in the red and yellow hues of the national flag, through the lens of the revolution, so beautifully expressed : "The sacred spirit pervades all lands / Shining brightly on the crimson silk this morning." Like Tham Tam, the poet Nguyen Xuan Sanh, who before the August Revolution wrote enigmatic and hopeless verses, now expresses joy through very realistic details of simple life.

I yearn endlessly for the resounding waves.
We celebrate the gathering of the wind as we set out on our journey.

The poet-soldier Tran Mai Ninh, who was then active in South Central Vietnam, also expressed his deep love for the country and its people through two poems, "Love for Rivers and Mountains" and "Remembering the Blood." His love for the country is the love for the rivers and mountains, the love for the people who know how to "blend labor with the land." The rich and beautiful yet harsh landscapes of South Central Vietnam flow into the poems with a free, bold, and proud tone, and with a very impressive imagery:

The moon leans over the Tra Khuc River.
Clouds enveloping and water murmuring
The sun shines brightly on the coconut trees of Tam Quan.
The sad wind twists and turns.
Bong Son is as gentle as a poem.
The dim moonlight illuminates Binh Dinh.
Phu Phong is spacious.
Phu Cat
An Khe is towering high...

With the spirit of "fighting to the death for the Fatherland," these soldiers directly plunged into a new battle:

Thousands of soldiers
Thousands of gamblers, the nation's gold and silver.
Living... in the silent depths
And secure the highest honor.
Staring intently into the abyss of the future.
(Remember the blood)

Poet Doan Van Cu - author of famous "poetic paintings" such as "Tet Market," "Road Home to Mother," and "Summer Moon" before the August Revolution, now depicts a new aspect of the national spirit, a vibrant revival with traditional colors:

Yesterday, the village girls were still wearing red blouses.
Her flower-like smile was as bright as the morning sun.
Today everyone ventured out from behind the green bamboo hedge.
With the blood of a warrior boiling in his veins.

Poetry celebrating the new Vietnam focused on the themes of Nation and People with Independence and Freedom, creating a deeply moving literary image: that of Uncle Ho – the founder of our Party, the father of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Two notable examples are the poems "Ho Chi Minh" by To Huu and "Ho Chi Minh" by Te Hanh. While To Huu's writing about Uncle Ho at this time wasn't as eloquent as some later works, he successfully portrayed the image of a new type of national hero, embodying the beauty of traditional values.

Ho Chi Minh
O sacred torch!
Above our heads, the national flag flies.
A century in his name: Patriotism
You are a friend of this world of suffering.

The poet Te Hanh once again firmly affirmed the role of Uncle Ho in guiding the revolutionary movement through his sincere and insightful reflections on the President's virtues:

Bright, gentle, sincere, determined
We are not intimidated by storms or thunder.
Ho Chi Minh, simply the person who could
Guide the ship of our nation to glory.

Poetry celebrating Independence Day and welcoming the new Vietnam is the breath of the sacred spirit of the land and mountains, the echo of millions of people. It is the undying faith and joy of our nation, largely written in an epic and romantic style. These multifaceted verses enrich the garden of modern revolutionary poetry. They mark a turning point in the nation's history, a transformation after 80 years of enslavement. They flow from the veins of poet-soldiers. They motivate and inspire countless generations. Nearly eight decades have passed since that source of poetry, yet when we reread it, we still find it fresh and vibrant, as if it were just yesterday.

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