Mrs. Mười was devoted to the Revolution
Mostly away for nine years, her husband was assisting the Revolution
All of her sons and daughters eventually contributed to the Revolution
In vain the South Vietnamese military was looking for her husband
So soldiers got the next best, Mrs. Mười herself
They tortured her and demanded to know where he and her children were
As she was nearing death
She called attention to her chest
And shrieked at her tormenters:
“My husband and my children are lodged deep in my heart
If you wretches want to find them
You’ll have to cut out my heart and look inside”
—adapted from Nguyễn Thị Định’s memoir, No Other Road to Take, 81.
