5.
To The Filipino Flag: A Salutation
Written by: Guillermo V. Sison
Raise our flag and hail it proudly,
Keep it there and guard it bravely,
See it waving in the sun;
Hail the symbol and the flower
Of our people's pomp and power,
See it's grandeur in the sun.
In its colour is the story
Writ in blood of dead men's glory-
Fly it for our martyred brave;
In our dreams we will remember,
In our breasts will grow forever,
All the valor of our brave.
Where are all the hands that held it,
Lips of fire that kissed and hailed it
in Balintawak's first cry?
Where are those who died defending
Tirad Pass, their flag up holding,
Flashing it against the sky?
Here we are, the young and daring,
Ready with the country sharing
Sharing in the love of flag;
Here we are beneath its shadow,
Soul undaunted. True to follow
Valiantly our country's flag.
Drape our flag about our bosom
'till in us will blossom
Flame for our beloved land;
Breathe on it our burning spirit,
Bless it with our life, defend it
With a bold, heroic hand.
Let the flag, as fire to weld us,
Bind our fibres firmly, make us
Strong, invincible, and all
Thus united we shall flourish,
From the earth we shall not perish
Our young nation shall not fall.
Holy flag of God's fair country,
Flag of hope and faith and glory,
Holy Filipino flag!
Be in peace our inspiration,
Guiding gleam and veneration,
Radiant Filipino flag!
Wave, O flag, o'er farms of golden
Grain; o'er mountains, fields, wealth-laden
O'er this paradise of peace!
We will work with warmer passion,
Build our dreams a living tension,
Grow in God's sweet light and peace.
Flag that loosed us our serfdom;
Flag that gave us morning, freedom;
Lead our race, the the brown and free!
None shall haul thee down and trample
On our freedom's sacred temple,
None shall slave again the free!
4.
Pag-ibig Sa Tinubuang Lupa
Ni: Andres Bonifacio
Aling pag-ibig pa ang hihigit kaya
Sa pagkadalisay at pagkadakila
Gaya ng pag-ibig sa Tinubuang lupa?
Aling pag-ibig pa? Wala na nga, wala.
Ulit-ulitin mang basahin ng isip
at isa-isahing talastasing pilit
ang salita’t buhay na limbag at titik
ng isang katauhan ito’y namamasid.
Banal na pag-ibig pag ikaw ang nukal
sa tapat na puso ng sino’t alinman,
imbit taong gubat, maralita’t mangmang
nagiging dakila at iginagalang.
Pagpupuring lubos ang palaging hangad
Sa bayan ng taong may dangal na ingat,
Umawit, tumula, kumanta't sumulat,
Kalakhan din niya'y isinisiwalat.
Walang mahalagang hindi inihandog
Ng may pusong mahal sa Bayang nagkupkop,
Dugo, yaman, dunong, katiisa't pagod,
Buhay ma'y abuting magkalagut-lagot.
Bakit? Alin ito na sakdal ng laki,
Na hinahandugan ng buong pagkasi,
Na sa lalong mahal nakapangyayari,
At ginugulan ng buhay na iwi?
Ito'y ang Inang Bayang tinubuan:
Siya'y ina't tangi sa kinamulatan
Ng kawili-wiling liwanang ng araw
Na nagbigay-init sa buong katawan.
Kalakip din nito'y pag-ibig sa Bayan,
Ang lahat ng lalong sa gunita'y mahal,
Mula sa masaya'y gasong kasanggulan
Hanggang sa katawa'y mapasa-libingan.
Sa aba ng abang mawalay sa bayan!
Gunita ma'y laging sakbibi ng lumbay,
Walang alaala't inaasa-asam
Kundi ang makita'y lupang tinubuan.
Pati ng magdusa'y sampung kamatayan
Wari ay masarap kung dahil sa bayan
At lalong mahirap. Oh, himalang bagay!
Lalong pag-irog pa ang sa kanya'y alay.
Kung ang bayang ito'y masasa-panganib
At siya ay dapat na ipagtangkilik,
Ang anak, asawa, magulang, kapatid;
Isang tawag niya'y tatalikdang pilit.
Hayo na nga, hayo, kayong nagabuhay
Sa pag-asang lubos ng kaginhawahan
At walang tinamo kundi kapaitan,
Hayo na't ibangon ang naabang bayan.
Kayong nalagasan ng bunga't bulaklak
Ng kahoy ng buhay na nilanta't sukat,
Ng bala-balaki't makapal na hirap,
Muling manariwa't sa baya'y lumiyag.
Ipahandug-handog ang buong pag-ibig
At hanggang may dugo'y ubusing itigis;
kung sa pagtatanggol, buhay ay mapatid,
Ito'y kapalaran at tunay na langit.
3.
Quietness
Written by: Amador T. Daguio
I am a lover of quietness---
Unechoed songs within a silent heart,
A silver pond, a statued loveliness
Where words can take no part.
I love the quiet ways of memory,
The quiet looks to give you loving praise,
The quiet secrets of your ministry
Through quiet nights and days.
The quiet mountains of the earth I love,
The soaring cloud, the sun, the dewy leaf,
My quiet questioning of God above,
My quiet, tearless grief.
2.
Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell)
Written by: Jose Rizal
Translated by: Encarnacion Alzona & Isidro Escare Abeto
Farewell, my adored Land, region of the sun caressed,
Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost,
With gladness I give you my life, sad and repressed;
And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its best,
I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.
On the fields of battle, in the fury of fight,
Others give you their lives without pain or hesitancy,
The place does not matter: cypress, laurel, lily white;
Scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom's site,
It is the same if asked by the home and country.
I die as I see tints on the sky b'gin to show
And at last announce the day, after a gloomy night;
If you need a hue to dye your matutinal glow,
Pour my blood and at the right moment spread it so,
And gild it with a reflection of your nascent light.
My dreams, when scarcely a lad adolescent,
My dreams when already a youth, full of vigor to attain,
Were to see you, Gem of the Sea of the Orient,
Your dark eyes dry, smooth brow held to a high plane,
Without frown, without wrinkles and of shame without stain.
My life's fancy, my ardent, passionate desire,
Hail! Cries out the soul to you, that will soon part from thee;
Hail! How sweet 'tis to fall that fullness you may acquire;
To die to give you life, 'neath your skies to expire,
And in thy mystic land to sleep through eternity!
If over my tomb some day, you would see blow,
A simple humble flow'r amidst thick grasses,
Bring it up to your lips and kiss my soul so,
And under the cold tomb, I may feel on my brow,
Warmth of your breath, a whiff of thy tenderness.
Let the moon with soft, gentle light me descry,
Let the dawn send forth its fleeting, brilliant light,
In murmurs grave allow the wind to sigh,
And should a bird descend on my cross and alight,
Let the bird intone a song of peace o'er my site.
Let the burning sun the raindrops vaporize
And with my clamor behind return pure to the sky;
Let a friend shed tears over my early demise;
And on quiet afternoons when one prays for me on high,
Pray too, oh, my Motherland, that in God may rest I.
Pray thee for all the hapless who have died,
For all those who unequalled torments have undergone;
For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried;
For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied,
And pray too that you may see your own redemption.
And when the dark night wraps the cemet'ry
And only the dead to vigil there are left alone,
Don't disturb their repose, disturb not the mystery:
If thou hear the sounds of cithern or psaltery,
It is I, dear Country, who, a song t'you intone.
And when my grave by all is no more remembered,
With neither cross nor stone to mark its place,
Let it be plowed by man, with spade let it be scattered
And my ashes ere to nothingness are restored,
Let them turn to dust to cover thy earthly space.
Then it doesn't matter that you should forget me:
Your atmosphere, your skies, your vales I'll sweep;
Vibrant and clear note to your ears I shall be:
Aroma, light, hues, murmur, song, moanings deep,
Constantly repeating the essence of the faith I keep.
My idolized Country, for whom I most gravely pine,
Dear Philippines, to my last goodbye, oh, harken
There I leave all: my parents, loves of mine,
I'll go where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen
Where faith does not kill and where God alone does reign.
Farewell, parents, brothers, beloved by me,
Friends of my childhood, in the home distressed;
Give thanks that now I rest from the wearisome day;
Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, who brightened my way;
Farewell to all I love; to die is to rest.
1.
Beyond Forgetting
Written by: Rolando A. Carbonell
For a moment I thought I could forget you.
For a moment I thought I could still the restlessness in my heart.
I though the past could no longer haunt me – nor hurt me.
How wrong I was!
For the past, no matter how distant, is as much a part of me as life itself.
And you are part of that life. You are so much a part of me — of my dreams, my early hopes, my youth and my ambitions – that in all tasks I can’t help remembering you.
Many little delights and things remind me of you. Yes, I came. And would my pride mock my real feelings? Would the love song, the sweet and lovely smile on your face, be lost among the deepening shadows?
I have wanted to be alone. I thought I could make myself forget you In silence and in song… And yet I remembered.
For who could forget the memory of the once lovely, the once beautiful, the once happy world such as ours?
I came because the song that I kept through the years is waiting to be sung. I cannot sing it without you. The song when sung alone will lose the essence of its tune, because you and I had been one.
I have wanted this misery to end, because it is part of my restlessness. Can’t you understand? Can’t you divine the depth and tenderness of my feelings towards you?
Yes, can’t you see how I suffer in this even darkness without you?
You went away because you mistook my silence for indifference. But silence, my dear, is the language of my heart.
How could I essay the intensity of my love when silence speaks a more eloquent tone? But perhaps, you didn’t understand…
Remember, I came, because the gnawing loneliness is there and will be lost until the music is sung, until the poem is heard, until the silence is understood…until you come to me again.
For you alone can blend music and memory into one consuming ecstasy. You alone…
Who is Rolando Carbonell?
Dr. Rolando A. Carbonell was born on October 23, 1946. He was a poet, an author and an educator. He was one of the gurus in Philippine love poetry. Dr. Carbonell had a colorful love affair, has 14 children but has only one love - Tita Duran...to whom the poem, Beyond Forgetting, was dedicated to. His books garnered a lot of awards, one of which was the "Pride of Malay Race Award For Poetry". He was soft-spoken and gentle-mannered. This man exuded love in many levels and inspires a lot of aspiring poets to never stop believing in themselves and to always listen to the heart and the spirit for you will always be guided to the right direction when you take heed of what they are whispering to you.
He died on December 15, 2009 at the age of 63.
My Reaction to his poem "Beyond Forgetting"
This poem will melt your heart. The first time I've read it, it swayed my emotions. It is very melodious and astounding yet so easy to understand. You can feel the poet's agony, longingness, his thirst and burning desire towards the love of his life. Just reading the lines takes you to another world. This poem is indeed marvelous, a poem we can somehow relate to, and a poem that will remain in my heart through time. The best!
References
http://philippine-literature.jimdo.com/literary-works/poems-101/
https://filipinobookshelf.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/beyond-forgetting/
http://www.nancycudis.com/2012/02/readings-in-philippine-literature.html
https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pag-ibig_sa_Tinubuang_Lupa
http://www.ancientfaces.com/person/rolando-carbonell/5625744#biography
http://sunbinstripped.blogspot.com/2006/04/beyond-forgetting.html
