It has been 81 autumns, but the heroic spirit of the general uprising to seize power remains intact in the heart of every Vietnamese citizen. Under the light of the Party, the leadership of President Ho Chi Minh led our nation through the long night of slavery, rising to master the country. And that is an endless source of inspiration for generations of Vietnamese poets.
Verses that stand the test of time
The August Revolution - a glorious epic of the nation. In just a short period, our people across the country rose up to seize power into their own hands. Recording the emotions of that great historical event, poet To Huu in his poem “Hue in August” wrote: “Flat chest for four thousand years, this afternoon a strong wind/Blew it up. The heart suddenly turned into the sun...”. The poem was written exactly during the days when the uprising to seize power was boiling everywhere, so it is easy to understand the overflowing, bursting emotions of the revolutionary poet To Huu. After so much blood, fire, and chains, the author could not hide his own and the nation's immense joy. “O wind, O wind! make a storm, make a tempest/Blow up the fresh, fragrant blood-red flag!/The yellow flies so beautifully, O stars, O stars!/I fall into the cascading flow of people”.
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| Image of the meeting of the General Uprising of August 1945 at the Hanoi Opera House Square. Documentary photo. |
For the “king of love poems” Xuan Dieu, during the days when the nation's revolutionary spirit was boiling, his romantic heart also beat in unison with the People. In the epic poem “The National Flag” written by him in November 1945, he portrayed the nation's revolutionary journey through poetry. In it, there are proud lines: “The wind flies away and the music flies along/ Bringing new news all over the Vietnamese sky and land/Flowers and grass welcome it, and the rivers and mountains also know/The glorious Vietnamese flag flies happily in the wind/The brilliant gold is born amidst the fresh red/The splendid red blooms around the brilliant yellow/All the fabric is a bright red smile/All the flags are a morning feast!”. The author only portrays the red flag with a yellow star of the nation but still brings an atmosphere filled with the light of the revolution.
Poet Nguyen Dinh Thi in his poem “The Country” portrayed the atmosphere of the General Uprising day with the verses: “Guns fire, shaking angry people/People rise like water breaking the dyke/Vietnam from blood and fire/Shakes off the mud to stand up brilliantly”. That heroic, resilient atmosphere is specifically present in the poem “General Uprising” by revolutionary journalist and poet Xuan Thuy: “From Hanoi, to Hue, Saigon/From distant villages to communes/Waves of protests roll up in layers/Red forest of righteous flags, white forest of swords”.
Continuing the flow of emotions
The General Uprising to seize power for the People in August 1945 was a major historical event of the nation. So many patriotic poets have dedicated their most sincere and deepest feelings and emotions to write about that event. And the flow of emotions about the autumn of the August Revolution continues to this day. In the land of Tram Huong, many poets have directed their flow of emotions with private but very proud feelings. Poet To Hang Thanh in the poem “August Autumn” shared her feelings: “I always remember that autumn/The one who left did not look back/Bare feet walking thousands of miles to save the country/That autumn day was covered with flags and flowers/People's hearts followed the song - revolutionary faith...”. The imprint of the nation's autumn uprising is deeply engraved in the hearts and minds of every Vietnamese citizen. So every autumn, people's hearts turn to the revolutionary autumn of 1945. Poet To Hang Thanh also shares that faith and nostalgia. “Autumn returns, remembering the revolutionary autumn/The early season sun gently falls with the sound of leaves/The gentle rain wets the fragile flap of the shirt/Autumn returns deep blue/The blue sky of August”.
Author Le Viet Hung wrote about the emotions of the General Uprising day from his own family's story to portray the atmosphere of the entire nation. In the poem “Remembering the Autumn of the Past”, he wrote: “Father said that he had never met grandfather/when grandmother gave birth in the straw corner of the kitchen/it was when grandfather held a knife, carried a hoe/joining the crowd to seize power for the People...”. Through the stories of the predecessors, but with the soul and heart of a patriot, poet Le Viet Hung also imagined the scene: “All over the roads, the villages rumbled/the oppressed poor people/walking barefoot, in brown shirts living a servant's life/standing up together to pass the fire to each other/The Viet Minh fire glowed red with the blood of Lac Hong...”. The atmosphere of the General Uprising day was boiling everywhere, those who had suffered misery and slavery for so many years now stood up: “The working people held their hands firmly/rushed into the post to seize guns and kill the enemy/captured Vietnamese traitors, expelled colonial invaders/the red flag with a yellow star fluttered over the homeland”.
When writing about the revolutionary autumn, we cannot help but remember our beloved Uncle Ho. The late poet Giang Nam in his poem “The Day Uncle Read the Declaration” wrote verses filled with affection between the leader and the People: “Uncle stood in the heart of the people/O Hanoi, Hanoi/This glory is eternal/Only once in eighty years/Uncle looked down and waved/Trying to hold back tears/Oh! Those who have passed away...”. As for poet Thu Khanh in the poem “Autumn - August” recorded the emotions of today's people when returning to the Capital. “August, Autumn sky, jade green/I return to Hanoi, bright yellow sunshine/Still like the old days, that Autumn/Uncle's voice echoed among millions of people...”.
The journey of the August Revolution continues to this day and in the future to bring the country on par with friends across the five continents and realize the socialist aspirations of generations of ancestors. And every autumn, in everyone's emotions, the values of those historical days remain intact.
GIANG DINH
