Over ninety years old, yet his embrace is still tight,
Holding his grandchild close, his soul sent to the distant South…
Nguyen Duc Tung from Vietnam is an acclaimed poet
Born in 1952, Phu Tho province, Vietnam, author Nguyen Duc Tung is a Mechanical Engineer by profession. After graduating from a high school, he joined the army in December 1970 and served for seven years (1971-1977) in battlefield as a field wireman for the Command of Information and Communication, helping to establish the Thong Nhat (Unification) communication line from Quang Binh to Dac Sieng, Gia Lai. He participated in major campaigns including the Spring-Summer offensive in Quang Tri (1972), the Liberation of the Central Highlands (1975), and the Ho Chi Minh Campaign for the liberation of Saigon (1975).
After his military service, he pursued higher education, studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from 1977 to 1982. He then dedicated 25 years (1982-2007) to the hydropower construction industry, working for Black River (Song Da) Corporation. During this period, he was involved in the construction of significant projects. He held prominent positions, including General Director of Black River 6 Joint Stock Company and Director of the Ngang Pass Road Tunnel BOT Company. Since 2013, Mr. Tung has shifted his career to the steel manufacturing industry. He currently serves as Chairman and General Director of Hop Luc Steel Joint Stock Company.
Nguyen Duc Tung began writing poetry at the age of 11 (1963), balancing his studies, work, and passion for verse. His first poem, “Noi hai cau treo” (Where the Two Suspension Bridges Are), was published in the People’s Army (Quan Doi Nhan Dan) Newspaper in 1973. During his time on the battlefield, he continued to write poetry and contribute to the newspaper of the Communication Corps. Later, while working in the economic sector, his poems were featured in various central and local newspapers and magazines.
In 1998, he was awarded the A Prize by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor for his work “Gửi người đi hầm” (To those who went into the Tunnel), a poem dedicated to the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant construction site. In 1992, he won the First Prize in a poetry competition organized by the Binh Dinh Provincial Literature and Arts Association with a collection of five poems. He continues to write poetry, considering it a means to express human emotions and fates.
MARCHING TO THE SOUTH
MARCHING TO THE SOUTH(Respectfully dedicated to the soldier who went to contain the epidemic in the South of Vietnam)
The old soldier of the former Marching to the South*,
Bids his grandson farewell as he heads to Saigon to contain the epidemic.
Over ninety years old, yet his embrace is still tight,
Holding his grandchild close, his soul sent to the distant South…
He gently turned and spoke to his Wife,
“Dear, cheer up so our grandchild can go contain the epidemic.”
“Just like in the old days, when I went South to fight the enemy,”
“When you ferried me across the river, you didn’t cry…”
The grandfather kindly instructed his granddaughter-in-law,
“The nation faces an epidemic, your husband goes to contain it.”
“Thanks to the food and clothing (we’ve gained), we have built our careers and lives.”
“When the people need it, we repay our debt of gratitude to the people.”
“You must prepare everything your husband needs,”
“We don’t know if his return will be long or short.”
“The hidden enemy is very treacherous.”
“Four thousand years of vigilance, yet we never expected this…”
Lighting a stick of incense, he prayed at the altar,
Before the portrait of his martyr son.
(He fell on the other side of the highway bridge, The day our troops entered to liberate Saigon).
“O sacred spirit, please return to protect my grandchild,
Grant him resilience as he enters Saigon to fight the epidemic,”
“So that the South and North are no longer distanced,
And people are not kept apart from one another, in this world.”
(Ha Dong, 19th August 2021)
Contextual Explanation:
*Marching to the South: Refers to soldiers from the North who marched/went to the South to fight during the war.
***
THE WORD OF STONE
I
Stone lives affectionately with mankind,
The only pity is that people forget stone soon after.
Please listen to the stone statue carrying the word of stone.
The stone stele remembers on behalf of man for a thousand years…
II
Mankind takes fire from within stone,
And stone adorns every human life.
When they pass away, lying beside the stone,
Do not ask why the stone is sparing of words…
(Bac Ninh, 26th October/2021)
***
IF I AM BANKRUPT ONE DAY
(Dedicated to a businessman and his wife.)
I used to sleep through the night starving….
Our child was sick, no money, and my heart broke.
Doing everything just to be able to have,
a little money to send to my wife at year’s end…
So much fragility, making winter bitterly cold.
So much exposure to the sun, making summer blazing hot.
With a man’s resolve, I march on as if bound by fate,
Oh suffering, thoroughly soaking a whole lifetime…
The deceptions, the stinking traps,
Blame-shifting, credit-claiming, oppression, fame…
Wick is light, but lead is heavy,
Oh the marketplace, light and heavy are mixed together…
If I want to let go, I cannot let go.
If I want to see through, I cannot see through.
If I want to forget, why does it linger.
If I want to think deeply, I think and still don’t understand…
I still know that money is something external to the body,
To throw oneself into this is loneliness,
I know it… I pay the price and I take the risk,
Even though tomorrow I die and cannot take it with me…
The business world teaches me what I must do,
So that nothing is superfluous.
If I fail, I will start over,
Wisdom and foolishness in life, a single fragile thread…
Win or lose, you still praise me,
You are the happiness waiting for me behind the door…
Letting me hold your hand to pass through temptations,
Those beautiful women who cannot give off an intoxicating scent…
Tomorrow I might be bankrupt,
Because who can truly know the market…
Despite that, I still belong to You,
I still have You, and You are more precious than gold!
(Bac Ninh, 20th December 2024)
(HFT’s translation)
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