Top 10 Most Beautiful Love Poems by Poet Tố Hữu

You never asked where I came from,

I wandered and drifted towards you.

Why question, my dear,

It only adds to the sorrow we feel!

I knew all along that you

Live here today, gone tomorrow,

In the dust of roads and winds,

On the edges of markets, on thresholds.

This afternoon, the cold wind blew,

And pushed you into my room.

Oh, my love, though poor, I have no bread,

All I have to offer is a little love...

I gazed at you in silence,

Gently placing my hand

On your disheveled hair,

Falling loosely over your brow.

You stared at me without blinking,

And said nothing at all.

Two lost souls, drifting away,

Today, we meet in mutual understanding...

Hue, November 1937

Source: Tố Hữu, 'From Then On', Literature Publishing House, 1959

You and I, returning to visit Hue,

Hue, my homeland, with Ngự Mountain and Perfume River,

We walk again, along the familiar paths,

Back to the days of youthful spring, those past times…

You, a seventeen-year-old girl from Thanh province,

Amidst the splendor of the royal city,

Then the autumn wind of revolution blows,

Gently lifting your wings, so young and bright,

Soaring into the light of the soul.

From the dirt, you rise, radiant,

While I, at twenty-five, full of vigor,

After years of struggle and imprisonment,

Still amazed, when I hold your hand,

The young, gentle, sweet girl,

Afraid of love, yet busy with life.

Little did I know, that when we first met,

I would quietly gaze at your warm brown cheeks,

Your pale skin glowing with a shy flush,

And the charm between us, like a long-awaited promise,

We walk together, through the wind and rain,

Leaving Hue, but forever in my heart.

We visit the old house, with the two old longan trees and sweet starfruit,

The old school, Trưng Vương, Quốc học,

Our innocent childhood, full of life and love,

White áo dài flowing, replaced now with the purple of the past.

Through fire and gunfire, Hue stands so beautifully!

On Tràng Tiền Bridge, looking at the green water like a boat's leaf,

Across Đập Đá, Hương Giang Hotel,

Looking down at Đông Ba, a newly built, grand market,

While others chase wealth, you and I hold each other dear.

Oh, the old days, I will never forget!

Thuận Hoá still here, remembering Ba, the owner of the shop,

The market at Cống, the love for Lưu, for Diểu,

The prison, cold with shackles,

And Hồ Tịnh Tâm still fragrant with white and pink lotus.

Who knows those summer nights, when I hid alone, in the old si tree.

The homeland, full of sorrow, thirty years soaked in blood,

Thanh Lương shattered, Phù Lai in ruins,

How joyful now, the rice is no longer mixed with wild yam,

New houses built from bricks, red with the color of victory.

Three hundred prayers to my mother, at her cold grave,

Asking for her to rest in a heavenly place.

I still walk on, down this long road,

Even at seventy-two, with gray hair!

If anyone still doubts, my dear, about good and evil,

Know this: our faith will never change.

Happiness is never something we beg for,

Freedom cannot kneel and bow.

Perhaps at times, we may lose our way,

But we will continue on our path,

For the strength of our people is extraordinary,

And a new spring is rising ahead...

We move forward, never to turn back,

Until the day our strength is spent, our breath fades.

All will pass, but Humanity remains.

And the song of life endures forever!

Raindrops fall, soaking the grass and leaves,

Your hair is wet now,

Your cheeks glow red,

I want to kiss you... but I hold back.

Afraid you might feel embarrassed,

I hold your small hands tightly,

Though we're apart, I don't want to let go.

You walk, with the rain falling on the earth,

Soft mud clings to the slopes of Phù Ninh.

I remember your figure as you go,

The crow-feathered scarf, the brown dress you wore.

This afternoon, the forest is desolate and deep,

The rain from the mountain streams, no one knows where it leads.

How I wish I could turn into a bird,

Fly by your side, singing to ease my heavy heart!

Isn't it strange, though I'm right here with you,

Yet I keep longing, wanting to be closer!

Worried you'll be angry, upset,

That my thoughts of you leave you lonely, making you sad...

How could two souls be bound together,

Like two birds with wings that kiss the clouds in the sky?

How could we walk through life,

Like shadows and light, side by side, through the years?

Your smile makes me happy too,

When I'm in pain, your tears silently fall, aching with me.

Through all the turmoil and the highs and lows,

How many true friends can we find without words?

This is love, my dear!

Two becoming one, for a hundred years...

Listening quietly to the Quan Họ tunes on this autumn night,

Endless clouds and water, the deep bond of love between us,

Enthralled by the breeze calling the moon,

Lingering in your eyes, in the sweet smile of the countryside.

Oh, my love! Stay, don't go back,

With a heavy heart, we part, the boat slowly drifts away,

Who leaves, who remembers, who forgets?

I return, as promised, to meet you again, my love.

Autumn Night in Bắc Giang, October 14, 1986

Source: Tố Hữu, 'One Tune', Literature Publishing House, 1992

What does 'new' truly mean, my dear?

Is there ever anything truly old, when day and night, earth and sky remain endless?

Isn't life always changing, forever moving forward?

From the infinite to the beyond!

What was once eternal, still endures,

From sprouts to leaves, to fields of vibrant green,

Even after storms and fallen fruit,

The earth gives birth to new shoots of life.

And the tree once more grows branches,

So that one spring becomes the next spring.

Just like love, it stays true through time,

Though we're apart, we grow closer again, with passion.

Is it like a rose blooming anew,

Or the scent of an old flower, hidden deep within?

My love, life may bring storms and rain,

But our love remains fresh, as if it were destined to be!

The cold night, a hut with no door or window,

We lay together, wrapped up on the bamboo floor,

Close to each other, feeling the warmth in your arms,

Fearing the rooster’s crow, that the night would soon end...

With the north wind, we walk through the biting cold,

The old banana trees shudder, feeling the chill,

Some birds, sparse on the branches,

Reluctantly linger in the fading light of the weak sun...

Why do I search for you, lost in the mist of the evening,

Hesitant from the cold of the winter day,

Why wait for you, while I wander, lonely and sad?

Are the trees still bare, their branches dry and thin?

You shiver silently, listening to the wind's whispers,

The autumn has passed, and with it, all the love,

Yet my heart still longs to gather what remains on the road.

And soon... there will be cold, rain, and silence,

You will walk, alone, in the emptiness,

No one will be there, hesitant, watching you,

No one will softly speak a gentle word.

The door will be locked, indifferent, never to open again,

Like so many hearts that remain closed, never to reveal their feelings!

Do you know, my dear, lost friend?

There were times I stopped, in a daze,

My heart aching, thinking of faraway lands,

And the quiet love that silently waits!

The season of ripe fruit is also the season of falling leaves,

In the frost, winter holds the budding spring in its grasp.

Tomorrow... Who knows what lies ahead?

The tides of life ebb and flow, some rise, some sink!

The heart carries both joy and sorrow,

It yearns for the warmth of the sun, the song of the morning birds,

For a hundred years, the spring of the earth,

How can we change a single human smile?

Who mourns a withered flower,

Will tears of sorrow flow from the heart’s blood?

Spring has come, my love!

It warms, and the branches bloom again.

Can we live a life so fragile?

Freedom and happiness are gifts life gives to us,

Overcoming cliffs and rivers on a distant path,

Rising high, singing a song of the spring’s journey!

The travelers say this is a hidden garden,

With a gentle fragrance, a glimpse of ancient dreams,

In a time where pale blue clouds drift aimlessly,

This is a land of reverie, a place of poetry...

A girl, lost in thought, twirls her light robe,

Tilting her conical hat, waiting for someone,

By the calm riverbank, a ferry floats gently,

Gliding along in the soft morning breeze...

The old walls stand cold and silent for centuries,

The flag hangs lazily, barely moving in the air,

The grand castle with its haughty splendor,

In silk and velvet, with wings of a phoenix in flight.

I strike my heels on the streets of Huế,

Indifferent, without a single feeling in me,

The air is thick with the stench of decay,

And the Hương River flows on, unceasing...

Thoughts of death are laid bare, withered and yellowed,

Autumn’s leaves about to fall on the ground,

Why dream of ancient illusions any longer?

The trees have lost their green, now to the season of gold!

Who could have thought this land, so eternal,

Would see young shoots wither, and leaves lose their luster?

Oh, the irony! My soul sees only

Humbling moss that clings to dry, dead branches.

Who thought paradise would flicker so faintly?

Talent and beauty, once shining, now dim and dull,

All I see is this cold grave,

Burying a soul lost in hollow fame.