Gourd, courgette, stay unite,
Regardless of the type you are!
Different plants you are,
You’re on the same pergola for now
(original: Bầu ơi thương lấy bí cũng – Tuy rằng khác giống nhưng chung một giàn.)
Gourd and courgette are two different plants but are often planted together by farmers on a patch of land at the edge of a pond or garden corner. They often climb together on a truss. So gourd and courgette become close. Sharing the same living conditions and the same fate, so the gourd and courgette should not be separated for some reason. Why? Even though they are two different varieties, they are from the same family. If the weather is good, they are both happy. If not, they suffer together.
The poem borrows the story of gourd and courgette to talk about people and life. Each person has a unique background, circumstances, and living conditions, but friends of the same age in the same school, neighbors share the same neighborhood, and people share the same homeland. The common circumstances and the similarities are the bases for closeness and sympathy so that people love, protect, and yield to sharing. No one can live alone or separately because love makes people closer together, and each person’s life will be better.
Ancient Vietnamese lived mainly by farming. Weather and natural conditions greatly affect the harvest results, and water management is important. If everyone didn’t join hands in building dikes and planting forests to prevent floods, it would be difficult to protect crops and the fruits of hard work. In harsh living conditions, how can we survive if we do not know how to rely on each other? The close relationship has made love flourish, and the Vietnamese have considered it a precious tradition for generations. This, perhaps, is the origin of patriotism. During the periods of foreign invasion, the Vietnamese people, despite having the rich and the poor, the braves and the cowards,… but all share the same suffering, the same shame of slavery if the country is invaded. That is why people have to stay united to fight against any invasion. It is a natural emotional need and a survival condition in the face of dangers that threaten the nation’s destiny.
