Hope from Poems Captured Documents author unknown
Hope
Clouds shift above the stream.
Pink skies surround the mountains.
We crossed many hills, many valleys
And rested our heads on the Truong Son mountains,
The rocks worn by our many steps.
We shiver with fits of malaria
That come and go
Yet we move into our future.
We walk a thousand miles
And still the promised life stays in our eyes.
The burning and killing will pass.
The enemy will be driven from our country.
Although our legs are weary,
Our voices hoarse,
We sing the songs of rebuilding.
All of our lives we struggle to be happy in our work,
To build a bridge to tomorrow.
Vietnam is a country of great seas
And long rivers.
We struggle on the road to move forward.
In this hardship, we need songs of hope.
Author Unknown
23 February 1967
To Tran Minh Giang, a close friend met on the warring path.
From Poems from Captured Documents, The University of Massachusetts Press, 1994