Poems about 'white-shirted soldiers'

The Covid-19 pandemic has entered its third year, although many countries have produced vaccines, humanity has not yet recovered from the Corona virus, many places have fallen into disaster. The Vietnamese people are also not immune to anxiety and suffer the severe consequences of the pandemic. And the "white-shirted soldiers" on the "S"-shaped strip of land have been silently fighting to protect the health and lives of their compatriots in daily life as well as during the pandemic. Therefore, their images in poetry are both simple and brilliant, bringing faith and spiritual energy to the entire community.

Doctors and nurses work day and night to fight the epidemic.

These are verses from the poem “Silent medical profession” by doctor Le Hoang Tu: “…What do you see when you hear the news every morning/ How many people among medical staff are infected/ How many pristine shirts have fallen from the epidemic center/ For the homeland, for our fellow human beings, the word "birth"/ In the days when your country and ours/ Everyone is confused, insecure and taking precautions/ Only we are still on the front line/ Not afraid of danger to keep the country peaceful...”. The simple, rustic and heartfelt verses encapsulate the secret feelings of many “white-shirt soldiers” during the pandemic. There is anxiety, sorrow, a sense of responsibility and determination to fight for the people and fellow human beings.

Doctors treat patients with sunburn. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Health and peace are considered the most precious assets of human beings. When people are sick, ill, or their lives are threatened, no one but doctors will take care of them, treat them, and save their lives. Some people have compared them to “second mothers,” because without their intervention, life will not continue.

But in reality, not many people fully understand the hardships and sacrifices of those in white coats. This was shared by author Nguyen Dinh Cuong in the article “It is an honor to be called a doctor”: “Longing to sleep at night but unable to close an eye/ Because the patient is always in pain and groaning/ The story of the doctor's night shift/ Has attached his career to the life of a physician/ Love for the profession has created a torch/ Illuminates our hearts to bring happiness to every home/ When it's fate, we don't complain/ It's our duty, that means love for humanity".

Medical staff burst into tears as they witnessed the daily passing of COVID-19 patients.

Entering the medical profession means accepting hardship, pressure and sacrifice, especially in family life. Men have a hard time, women are even more disadvantaged. Therefore, through the article “Confessions of a female doctor”, author Truong Tuy Anh confided: “On New Year's Eve, I came to work/ Even though I know that you are very tired because of the child/ The patient is in pain and emaciated/ I cannot abandon the motto of the profession/ The physician - my mother, I swear/ I must never forget to practice medical ethics/ Every night, there are times when I am so sad/ I miss my little child, my soft pillow is lonely...".

The hardships, difficulties and pressures are real, but that does not discourage the “white-coat soldiers” from stepping back. On the contrary, when deciding to put on a white coat and embark on the path of healing and saving people, doctors and nurses always keep in mind their sacred mission. But when sharing this, author Nguyen Ngoc René wrote these extremely simple verses: “Dream of a white shirt, a lifetime of being a doctor/ Becoming a healer, happily saving people/ Who cared to study hard in the past/ Today, attached to a world of hospitals/… Seeing medicine in life, vowing with heart/ Saving patients with full sincerity/ Only hoping like a blue cloud/ Everyone will be healthy, peaceful and happy" ("Life in White Shirt").

Perhaps that is why the “white-shirted soldiers” are often compared to flowers, contributing to spreading fragrance in life, bringing joy and peace to life. An author with the pen name Soldier wrote: “Like a flower blooming in life/ Gently you come to the sick/ No need for magic/ A white-robed fairy flies into the human world/… Even though there are still hardships and difficulties/ Cannot fade the moonlight in you/ After a hundred years, the lotus is still a lotus/ The heart of a doctor – a kind mother spreads fragrance” (“Flower of Life”).

It is impossible to count how many poems and authors have written about the “white-shirted warriors”. This shows that the respect, gratitude and honor of people for physicians is always radiant and has no dimension to weigh, measure, or count.