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Pho Poetry
A Literary Celebration of Vietnam's Iconic Dish
About the Poet
Tú Mỡ (1900-1976), born Hồ Trọng Hiếu, was a renowned Vietnamese poet. He was a member of the Self-Strength Literary Movement and known for his humorous, satirical style that often captured everyday Vietnamese life and culture.
Read in:
Pho – The Noble Delight
By Tú Mỡ
_By Tú Mỡ_
Among the dishes of noble grace,
Pho stands supreme in time and place.
For just a coin, a humble price,
A treasure rich in warmth and spice.
Soft rice noodles, beef so fine,
Golden broth with fat that shines.
Fresh herbs, onions finely spread,
A dash of fish sauce, chili red.
Steam ascends, a fragrant call,
Stirring hunger, warming all.
It wakes the heart, excites the mind,
A simple dish—yet so refined.
No feast of kings nor ocean's prize
Can match the joy in pho's disguise.
A single bowl, yet often more,
Leaves the soul still craving for.
From noblemen to those in need,
Who has tasted, but not agreed?
Scholars, clerks, at break of dawn,
Find strength in pho to carry on.
Workers toil through night and day,
Pho sustains them on their way.
Poets lost in sleepless thought,
A steaming bowl—fresh hope is brought.
Actors, dancers, young and bright,
Pho restores their strength and light.
Even beauty, fair yet frail,
Finds in pho a healthful grail.
Better than the herbs of lore,
Ginseng, musk, or tonics more.
For yin and yang, for heart and lung,
Pho revives both old and young.
Though wealth be great or purse be light,
Pho is health, pho is might.
Princes feasting on royal fare
Still find pho beyond compare.
Paris, proud in grand cuisine,
Welcomes pho, its rightful queen.
Against the world's fine banquet spread,
Pho still reigns, its fame widespread.
To live without it—what a plight,
A foolish soul who shuns this bite.
For when the final call is near,
Even spirits crave it here.
Oh friend, don't wait, don't hesitate,
Taste it now—before too late.