Like The Molave

Like the Molave
Rafael Zulueta da Costa


Not yet Rizal, not yet. Sleep not in peace:

There are a thousand waters to be spanned;
There are a thousand mountains to be crossed;
There are a thousand crosses to be borne.
Our shoulders are not strong;
Our sinews are grown flaccid with dependence, smug with ease under another’s wing.
Rest not in peace

Not yet Rizal, not yet.
The land has need of young blood and what younger than your own
Forever spilled in the great name of freedom
Forever oblate on the altar of the free?

Not you alone, Rizal.
O souls and spirits of the martyred brave, arise!
Arise and scour the land!
Shed once again your willing blood!
Infuse the vibrant red into our thin anemic veins
Until we pick up your Promethean tools
And strong out of the depthless matrix of your faith in us
We carve for all time your marmoreal dream!
Until our people seeing are become
Like the molave, firm, resilient, staunch
Rising on the hillside, unafraid
Strong in its own fiber, yes, like the molave!

Not yet, Rizal, not yet. 

The glory hour will come.
Out of the silent dreaming from the seven-thousand fold silence
We shall emerge, saying WE ARE FILIPINOS
And no longer be ashamed

Sleep not in peace.
The dream is not yet fully carved.
Hard the wood but harder the blows
Yet the molave will stand
Yet the molave monument will rise
And gods walk on brown legs

Reaction:

The poem aims to awaken each of every Filipino’s inner patriotism, our heartfelt love and devotion to our country, the Philippines. Yes! We had suffered so much. And up until now, we are still struggling. The poem wants us to be firm, strong, sturdy and solid like the Molave to make it through the hardships we had encountered, the hardships we’re facing now and the hardships that will soon arrive.

The poem also stresses that we, the Filipinos, are still enslaved of other countries and that we are still dependent on them. It is said in the poem that we aren’t that strong yet, that we need bigger nations to help lift us and that in order to survive we need to cling to them for goodness sake. We cannot be like this forever. Many Filipinos had shed their very blood in order for us to gain freedom. Fearlessly, they fought hard for our country even it cost them their lives. That’s why the author encourages us to do our part as citizens of this country. We need to free ourselves from hiding under others’ wings because in fact we can fly on our own, we can soar to greater heights! We must be independent, be self-sufficient by any means. 

The poem also tells us that the road we’re about to cross would be rocky. But somehow, we need to be resilient. Our country needs to stand up every time it falls. We, the citizens ourselves, must rise, must be unafraid and must move. Just keep moving forward, though slowly, as long as we’re not stagnated on our current condition. For at the end of the road, glory is awaiting us.

The poem for me, also narrates that the youth, the young ones are the key to make our country prosper. It is us, the younger generation, whom our country needs. So we must work hard not just for the benefit of one’s self but also for the betterment of our country. Let’s refrain from being deviant and our country’s source of pain, rather let us be the hope of our nation. The poem further tells us, that we must be willing to take the responsibility in healing our country’s wounds and pushing it to the peak of its success.