(of Confucian Sino-Vietnamese origin)
The flame [of patriotism] burns in my heart to the very end,
I am now going to shed blood beautifying the Fatherland,
Don't feel sorry that I must go and you remain,
This sacrifice is simply a test, distinguishing cowards from great men,
It is now yours, the sacred duty to liberate our beloved land,
Success or failure will be in your hands,
Your victory in the future is my hope and my dream,
I want to share it in the golden stream (place where the deceased go).
Context: French colonialists often used public executions via guillotine to dissuade villagers from joining revolutionary organizations. This was a poem often recited by people before execution. Said to have originated in Phu-Tho prison where many were held in solitary confinement until execution, which escalated throughout the 1930s.
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