The destined union of husband and wife

(Baonghean) - Poet Hoang Trung Thong and his wife, Ho Thi Hoa, are both from Quynh Doi village, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province. It is said that in her youth, Mrs. Hoa was one of the most beautiful and prestigious women in Quynh village, while Hoang Trung Thong was one of only two people from the village to pass the entrance exam to Vinh National School.

Their marriage was primarily arranged by both families after they got to know each other and approved. Therefore, when Hoang Trung Thong was 18 years old – three years older than Hoa – their families arranged their wedding right in the year the August Revolution was successful!

The wedding was simple, with relatives from both sides and parents chatting and performing rituals together. Meanwhile, the groom was away studying, and the young bride was still busy embroidering and weaving. It wasn't until a year later, when the bride had turned 16 and the groom had graduated from Vinh National School and returned to his hometown to work, that the groom's family officially brought the bride home, and Mr. Thong and Mrs. Hoa were finally united in marriage.

Much later, Mrs. Hoa confided to outsiders: “The two families held a wedding ceremony, but the bride and groom still didn’t know each other. A year after the wedding, when the bride came home, on the first night, my parents made us stay together in one room. I was so embarrassed, I kept hiding in the corner, refusing to turn my face. Mr. Thong asked me: ‘How old are you?’ I replied: ‘I’m 16.’ Mr. Thong exclaimed and said: ‘I thought you must be much older, because before, my parents always arranged marriages for me with men a few years older than me, so they could take care of the household…’” Mrs. Hoa continued: “After hearing that, I could only remain silent, unable to say anything more because I was so ashamed!”

Shortly after their wedding, the poet Hoang Trung Thong joined the resistance movement and was away from home until 1956, when he returned to Hanoi, which had already been liberated. He welcomed Mrs. Hoa and their children from their hometown to the capital, where they lived in a cramped but warm and cozy room... Although Hoang Trung Thong's final years were filled with hardship and sorrow due to his health, the vicissitudes of life, and alcohol, it was perhaps the love between husband and wife, children, and in-laws from those impoverished years that inspired our poet to write the following poem "dedicated to my wife":

I love you so much, my dear.
The age is almost up.
Raising five children, plus a husband too.
"Struggling to make ends meet is a real struggle."

But it's not over yet, life goes on.
I'm still running, not sitting around doing nothing.
While he drinks, I go back and forth.
Worried day and night without rest.

He only had one person in his entire life.
I love him so much, I get angry then I laugh.
My friends and children take care of me.
Just saying I love you, my heart will never leave you.

I love you so much, my fresh flower.
And then they'll be a hundred or fifty years old anyway.
Flowers never wither.
Flowers are flowers, and they will always be vibrant and beautiful!

A female journalist who had the opportunity to learn about the life and career of the poet Hoang Trung Thong from Nghe An province shared: In real life, Hoang Trung Thong was one of the most faithful poets in the country. It's not that he wasn't romantic or didn't admire women. However, the profound, faithful, and wonderful first love of his wife, Ho Thi Hoa, was enough to immerse him in happiness.

Kim Hung