ding reyes books

 

Ding Reyes Writes 30...

WISHPERS

...Poems and More

 

 


           

 

 

Foreword  

Joyful, Celebratory,

Prayerful Poetry


Author's Intro

Contributing to Our Conscious Oneness 


The 30 Poems... 

(only 12 uploaded so far)

1. 'Wishpers'

2. Whispering Ripples

3. 'Thimk' of 'Ourself'

4. Smile for Synergy

5. A Giant Leap for

    Humankind

6. Love All (of) Life

7. Grace During Meals

8. Rewriting Kilmer

9. Live! (2)

10. Our Unified Breath

        of Gratitude

11. Breathing Fully

12. Direction

13. Soles and Souls

14. Words of Light

15. Will Someone Still   

      Come?

16. Let Go the Passersby

17. Change for Thee

18. Certsinly Uncertain

19. Water-drop Planet

20. Baptism in Banahaw

21. Loving Eyes

22. Proud Mom

23. Struggle for Real Peace

24. Dancing Riddle

25. Why Ask Why?

26. Steeled by Pain

27. Mirror

28. Beyond All Prisons

29. My First Farewell

30. Period.


...and More

31. Tribute to Treeview

32. Can't Hurry Glory

33. 'Tahanlahi'

34. Live! (2)

35. True Lovebond

36. Cyber-Discernment

 


Author's Extro 

Before I go... 


Back Cover 

Gathered in Unified Wishers... 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            

 

Click here to see the list of Poems in this Collection


THIS PAGE HAS BEEN VISITED  1753  TIMES SINCE IT WAS UPLOADED ON JUNE 2010.


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Part 1: The 30 Poems:


1.

 

                                 

deeply-felt wishes

my heart whispers

draw silent smiles

from deep within

many other hearts,

for these, after all,

have long been

their very own

whispered

wishes,

our common

‘wishpers’

                              Quezon City, April 30, 2007

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2.

           Whispering Ripples 

 

take care not to belittle

the whispering ripples

 

when they crisscross,

kiss, merge together,

instead of canceling

one another, they build

gigantic ocean waves

that turn, drown and sink

the titanic ocean liners!

Quezon City, April 30, 2007

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3.

           'Thimk' of 'Ourself' 

 

hanging still, quietly,

in that old library

the sign spelled out

what it wanted me

to commence doing

right immediately:

‘THINK!’ it demanded,

quite unsuccessfully.

the sign was later on

replaced with a new one

‘THIMK!’ it yelled out,

and awoke my brain

to some playful mood,

streams of thoughts

were laughing, dancing,

fast billowing all around!

 

then, i saw a similar sign

that made grammarians

red-faced and raving mad.

‘OURSELF,’ it said, as writ

by a ‘thimker’ of some wit,

insisting the word to be fit.

he’d challenge and change

the human world with it!

 

Makati, April 24, 2007

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4.

           Smile for Synergy 

 

Smile…

for health, the synergy of all dynamic systems of the body,

for symbiosis, the life-sustaining synergy of all living bodies,

for integrity, the synergy of one’s thoughts, words and deeds,

for friendship, the synergy of lives that deeply touch one another,

for marriage, the synergy of lives vowed to be intertwined till the end,

for ‘kapatiran’ or siblinghood, the synergy of bondings that last,

as ‘fellow-cuttings’ from the same womb branch out and grow apart,

for family, the synergy of marriage, parent-child love, and siblinghood,

born and nurtured in the warm embrace of home,

for teamwork and healthy organizations, the synergy 

of common and diverse mental, spiritual and physical capabilities 

for the same aims,

for earnest conversations, the synergy of information, views and feelings

that are shared with honest humility and heeded with genuine respect

for ‘bayanihan’ and the cooperatives, the synergy of community resources

and efforts for the common good, for nationhood, the synergy of people

sharing blood, domain and heritage,

 for planethood, the "Earth Synergy"

of all nations and races, of all species, 

of all land, air and water, and of all their energies,

for collective wisdom, the synergy of diverse learnings of diverse minds,

for the Universe, the synergy of all that exist, known and unknown,

for the great and glorious Cosmic Consciousness,

the loving Creator and Synergy of ALL synergies…

 

Smile for the synergy of all our smiles,

happy and proud to be part of it all.

 

Quezon City,  May 6, 1999

 

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5.

           A Giant Leap for Humankind 

 

For Earth Synergy

In the new millennium

nations of the world come together as one,

in body, mind and spirit,

to stand in reverence before the rest

of the bio-diverse citizens and elements of our living planet Gaia,

to take full responsibility for past and present environmental destruction,

and to lovingly commit

a conscious synergy of efforts

to rescue and heal, conserve and exalt, our Mother Earth.

This is a giant leap for Humankind

right back to the bosom of our home planet,

undoubtedly a euphoric historic event

that heralds a new way of life

for all Earthians,

as we enter the new millennium.

 

Amen.

 

 

Written in October 1999; translated into Bengali, Danish, Filipino, German, French, Japanese, and Swedish, before Earth Day (April) 2000. By now the translations number about 20. A multi-nationality solemn ceremony, called "Handshakes and Hugs for Earth Synergy," was created along with the poem and centered on the sharing of personal responses to it and a chorused recitation of It. Versions of this ceremony have been held in at least six countries during Earth Day 2000, and in more and more places during commemorations of Earth Day (April 22) and World Environment Day (June 5) all these past years.

 

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6.

           Love All (of) Life 

Life is a magical gift, lovingly Created and

…breathed into the quiver of each cell and of each of its replications;

…breathed into the unique beauty and majesty of each life form, with all its cells, tissues, organs and systems in healthy synergy;

…breathed into the preservation and natural adaptations of the life forms, owing to their valuable and unique places in the dynamic tapestry of symbiosis, the synergy of bio-diversity and of the living home-habitat that is the ecosystem or biome;

…and breathed into each incarnation that is passing on a magical but fragile flame from generations of parents to generations of offspring, and innately possessing individual dignity and rights equal to that of all other incarnations of all other life forms, and therefore deserving to enjoy equal opportunities for comfort, preservation, assertion and fulfillment according to its own Nature.

Blessing as we do, with our appreciation and abiding concern — indeed with our Love — all these life forms and all their homes and incarnations:

…we choose freely and firmly to exalt and preserve all (of) life and to prefer only the ways of Nature to end any of it, whenever such ending has to come;

  …we choose freely and firmly to partake of the symphony of the food web only with prudence against insensitive intervention and wasteful consumption and only with due reverence for all those plants and animals whose precious lives are sacrificed so their once-living cells may be ingested to sustain the living cells of those who consume them;

…we choose freely and firmly to protest and seek to stop all acts of killing and infliction of pain without any urgent and noble necessity, and all acts of killing and infliction of pain that is tainted with brutality, bigotry, greed, irresponsibility or pleasurable thrill;

…and we choose freely and firmly to exert all efforts to shine this Love All (of) Life! message into the minds, hearts and behavior of all that we can reach, foremost of all our very own selves.

January 23, 2000

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7.

           Grace During Meals 

(Something to chew well with our food)

I bow in cheerful reverence and gratitude to this food, and to all those plants and animals whose once-living cells now make up the part of this food that I can digest to nurture life and growth within my own living cells;

I bow in cheerful reverence and gratitude to all the people who worked their respective roles to bring this life-sustaining food right before me to eat and enjoy;

And I bow in cheerful reverence and gratitude to You, 

My Loving Creator, 

for blessing me with these,

for blessing these, and for blessing them,

with Your love and bountiful providence.

 

 

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8.

           Rewriting Kilmer 

 

Guest Illustration by Pinoy Reyes

I fear again I’ll never see

The lovely po’m that WAS the Tree,

The Tree whose roots drank up the rain,

Lest floods wash out the whole terrain,

And bury homes and crops a-bud,

And dams and streams and reefs in mud;

The Tree whose lovely blades

breathed out,

Supplied, for years, the needed cloud

That kept the tunes of gentle rain

And shortened much the hot refrain;

The Tree, in short, who kept alive

The humans who made Earth OUR hive.

Trees were sold by fools like me,

Who pray, "Remake this poe-Tree!"

March 1990; the all-capitalized possessive pronoun "THEIR" in the 

original was later changed to "OUR."

 

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9.

           Live (2) 

revere every leaf, smile at the Sun, wrote I...

but on second more ponderous thought...

i’d fancy doing that the other way around:

revere the Sun and smile out my thanks

to each and every living leaf

for giving each and every one of us

all our food and breath ever made

from the lighted magic in its green blade.

and i’d tenderly smile out my fondness,

and fondle each pale and fragile baby leaf,

curled and snuggled between older siblings,

as it baby-sleeps in the exquisite tapestry

of life and majesty, of all foliage!

 

 

 

 

Written in Guimaras Island, off Iloilo in Central Philippines, February 26, 2000. 

"Wrote I" refers to the fifth line in the poem "Live (1)" in this collection.

 

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10.

           Our Unified Breath of Gratitude 

 

O Great Divine Creator, 

O Bathala / Dakilang Maylikhâ, 

Despite our being widely diverse, we now wilfully .

Nagkakaiba-iba man kami, / ngayon ay kusà /
Blend, consciously and definitely,
our little voices .

Na nagsasanib-tinig / nang tahasa’t sadyâ /

To breathe out together sincerely and aptly 

Sa iisang paghingang / wagas at akmâ /

Our Thankfulness and Awe! .

Sa aming Pasasalamat /at Paghangà!

Hopefully we will all get to understand deeply .

Kaming lahat, nawa, / ay makaunawà /

That each of us is a Holy Word .

Na bawat isa sa amin / ay Banal na Salitâ /

In this Poetic Tapestry that You are weaving! 

Sa kabuuan nitong / hinahabi Mong Tulâ! /

Indeed, the Universe continues to be authored .

Sanlibutan ay patuloy / pa ngang inaakdâ /

With us participating in Your Creating! . .

At kami ay kalahok / sa ‘Yong paglikhâ! //

Amen! .

S i y a n g a!

 

This collection of poems in English carries the English translation of the poem-prayer Sanib-Hinga ng Pasasalamat at Paghanga, composed for chorused praying (for which slash marks are placed for pausing). This was finalized with vital contributions from prolific fellow-poem writer Sylvia O. de Guzman. of Sanib-Sining and Sanib-Sigla. The lines of the original poem are interspersed here, in much smaller font size. Guest Illustration by Herman Caniete, Sanib-Sining.

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11.

           Breathing Fully 

 

If life would be just brief for me,

then – amen!!! – so shall it be.

but now that i have chosen freely

to appreciate rather than to worry,

my life despite expected brevity

i can make most meaningful...

and really very happy!

Dedicated to the memory of Cita S. Soriente-Reyes, this was written in August 10, 1999, on what would have been her 44th birthday had she not gone back home to our Source five years earlier. This is also dedicated to all who now face life-threatening illnesses.

 

 

 

 

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12.

           Direction 

 

Indeed, we seek to be sure,

About the direction of our travels...

What a sensitive instrument

The ship’s compass must be!

’Tis being aligned with precision

Along the northern orientation.

For truly there is around us,

To keep us from confusion,

Aside from the path of the Sun,

The Earth’s strong magnetic field.

Should the compass falter,

The ship can only flounder,

Run aground, speed on to disaster.

Indeed, we ought also to be sure

About the direction of our lives!

Translated from his own poem, "Direksyón" that was written in Tagalog aboard a ship in the middle of Batangas Bay in 1995 for a "Celestine brother," as that compass adjuster worked.

 

 

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13.

           For Stronger Souls and Soles

here for you is something from me,

a gift to pass between our souls;

it’s one attempt to weave poetry

about our soles and souls,

as we now walk the Path of Life

to learn each lesson, pass each test,

one who has really gotten the Light

can graduate ahead of the rest.

path has many a rock and thorn

that hurt and wound the feet,

leaving the softest of soles torn

to heal, harden, be forged in heat.

Soles of feet do grow to be tough,

getting strength a weak one covets,

as they romance the paths so rough

and not the comfort of soft carpets.

on that path are many a pebble,

that annoy us as irritating prickles;

but little things need not cause trouble

had we only learned to feel them

as tickles.

souls that still have so much to discover

can understandably be quite irritable;

grains, pebbles, they’d try to shun forever,

realizing later they’d never be able.

Light of Wisdom shining in our souls

on such attitudes seeks an amendment—

little things that irritate our soles

can just be objects of amusement.

let us understand, even appreciate others,

be cheerful with them despite their defects;

they are, after all, fellow travelers,

both good and bad human nature reflects. 

let us all be happy and cheerful

even as irritants tickle our soles,

as good-natured as we are peaceful

really, deeply, within our souls.

i hope you won’t find irritating and wrong

this point on soles and souls i’ve raised—

for one need not be deaf, just strong,

to "go placidly amid the noise and haste."

September 1996

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14.

           Words of Light

Fierce fears, woeful tears upon your plight,

Depression, despair, in the long dark night,

Banish them all and forever send to flight:

Shine upon them the Words of Light.

Seek for your Mind the Words’ loving might,

If upon seeing them you feel instant delight,

Their Spirit has always been glowing bright

Deep in you heart, those Words of Light.

Breatheon,then, in peace, with nary a fright,

As you focus on them your innermost sight!

Conquer all your fears, set things a-right,

Cherish and share all Words of Light!

 

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15.

           Will Someone Still Come?

Would there be someone

who’d come to my life?

Would there be one who’d love me

very much?

Would there be one who’d welcome me

always

With loving joy, and a hug

that’s just for me?

I could fall in love again, why not?

Meet one or another,

whom I’d enthrone in my heart,

But there might not be anyone

who’d even come close

To giving me love as intense as that

of my first queen!

My heart, now in pain, 

tends to retreat to timidity,

Afraid to fall in love again

and fail, be frustrated.

So I turn to seeking more

and more friends

Who’d help me lighten somehow

my loneliness.

 

 

 Guest Illustration by Herman Caniete, Sanib-Sining

Freely translated from May Darating Pa Kaya?, lyrics in Filipino written by the same author as his original song composition for the first death anniversary of Cita Soriente-Reyes in June 1995.

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16.

           Let Go the Passersby

with tears wiped out to hasten drying,

and with the quivers and sighs

all straightened out…

you heard your own voice saying

she would really be

one tough act to follow;

 

your mind seems to blank out

all those happy memories,

for you can enjoy them

no longer; attachment hurts

and you are not strong enough

for really, deeply, letting go.

 

but life has to go on,

she had earlier said with conviction.

and you have to resume the walk

all by your lonesome, this time,

while the emptiness hurts bitterly

and fear, even panic, sets in.

you could’ve better prepared yourself

for this, but were utterly unable to…

 

then you meet them, the passersby—

some nod in greeting, some smile,

some even reach out to you, tap you

on the shoulder, peck you on a cheek,

or give you a warm friendly hug.

 

ahh, the passersby…

you’ve learned to love them dearly!

some too much, too soon, too sweetly!

but they would mostly go on,

walk on along,

leaving you with just snapshots

in heart, mind,

of their smiles, their nods, their hugs,

as they walk on… away as they want to.

life goes on for them, too, for they,

after all, were just passing by…

and they owe you none!

 

you are also just a passerby

in their own sweet lives,

we all are in one another’s;

and perhaps it all just depends

on how long one would linger

in many an encounter, whether

to be a simple passer,

a fellow traveller,

a brother, a sister,

friend, team-player

or partner.

 

to avoid piling hurt over hurt

you must learn to let go

of those passersby

that you meet

on the road

of life

moving

on…

and then

move

on.

May 1996

 

 

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17.

           Change for Thee

I may or may not have a gift

To place beneath the Tree,

But you may appreciate the most

This gift: a Better Me.

          

       

You have been patient with my faults

As only you could be,

So, hard though it may be for me,

I’ll strive to change for thee

November 9, 2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                              Guest Illustration by Pinoy Reyes

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18.

           Certainly Uncertain

 

when am i certain?

when am i not?

‘tis for me a matter

of life and death.

i think, maybe, i’m never

really certain on anything,

save, perhaps, my own truth

and not on anyone else’s

because truth is elusive,

and things

do change.

 

January 14, 2002

 

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19.

           Water-Drop Planet

Water is the juice of the world,

All its flowings are siblings,

Water is the chainlink of life,

It threads together the roots

and branches.

Without water,

no thirst can be quenched.

Without water,

this world would be so dry

…it could not sustain life.

 

Drops are marker stamps of water

Kisses from mist and clouds,

The spray-sprinkle of love.

Waterflows of silent streams

Connect to the huge sea waves

Throughout the world

Freely translated from Ang Tubig, lyrics in Filipino written by the same author for Enya’s piano piece, Watermark, 1995

 

 

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20.

           Baptism in Banahaw

Water of Life,

Now swirling ‘round my body

In this mystical mountain called Banahaw

Imbues me with renewed power,

Determination and confidence to seek out

From the innermost recesses of my heart

Enough reasons for self-esteem,

Peace of mind and profound happiness,

The better for me to live and share

Life, Light and Love, and the Power

That comes from and after these three

And lasts.

A healthy Body-Mind,

Receiving the Spirit of Light in Wisdom,

To share with my brethren in the Family

Of Humans and of children of Nature,

Overflowing with love that

seeks no reward

Nor even recognition…

From this mighty river I emerge

a New Man.

 

December 1995

(painting by Ernesto Sta Cruz, Sanib-Sining)

 

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21.

           Loving Eyes

Room was dimmed

But beauty shone

Through loving eyes

I had hardly known…

I stared at her

As she did at her mother

And beheld the weight

Of deep sorrow borne.

I wish to always see someday

Such loving eyes staring at me

But the sorrow that I in her then saw

I wish never ever again to see.

1995

 

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22.

           Proud Mom

 

mother bird

teaches her young

how to fly

and watches proudly

as they spread their wings

and fly out

to live

their own lives.

1980

 

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23.

           Struggle for Real Peace

We want no piece-of-paper peace,

We want the real thing!

Aggressors may propose peace

With a lot of tongue work,

As tyrants may seriously seek

To impose "peace" by decree,

But how can we possibly live

In real peace and tranquility,

When we are kept hungry,

And our hands, even our tongues

Are bound in heavy chains?

Brothers and sisters, join the cause!

Struggle for real peace!

1973

 

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24.

           Dancing Riddle

i was born

of a

diminutive

reed

to dance

atop

a shrinking

pole.

dare

you guess

what I am

dare you

guess

what’s my

my role?

             May 1970

 

 

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25.

           Why Ask Why?

Why ask why

Your heart wants to cry?

Rainclouds are too heavy

To keep up there in the sky.

And analyzing, asking "why?"

Might tempt you to decide

All that water must stay

Up there in the clouds

Even if it shrouds

The bright beauty on high.

If your special goodbye

Needs a sob, not just a sigh,

 

Let not the mind ask why

Until after you really have

Fully had and poured out

Your good, good cry…

Enjoy the rain, release the pain,

All of it you must drain.

Let the Soul have her bath;

and allow not the brain

to even think to restrain,

to stop, to constrain,

that good, good cry…

And while you’re at it,

Weep out all those other

Little cries that you have kept

Imprisoned in your heart

When you thought it good

To keep your eyes dry.

Why rub your pretty eyes

As they gush out rivers?

Tears that have fallen

Have never made swollen

Any pair of eyes most sullen;

It’s really the rubbing

That causes the swelling,

Not at all your good, good cry…

After all that rain falling

Has completely washed the eyes

You’ll see clear bright skies…

That will be the time for "why?"s!

When, relieved of heavy load,

Your heart and soul can rise

To happily hug as fond mem’ries

Even the tearful goodbyes

Along with all the smiles

And all the earlier "Hi!"s.

September 1996

 

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26.

           Steeled by Pain

 

our deepest of wounds

really take time to heal,

but they can make skin

so tough just like steel.

ahh, that painful season

that you had to endure,

has undoubtedly made you

much stronger, more pure.

your tears have now dried,

dark clouds moved away;

rejoice! your inner beauty

shines through like the day!

written by ding reyes in October 1999

and dedicated to a dearly beloved friend]

 

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27.

           Mirror

i’d consider myself

a little more meaningful

if i could hold myself

up before your eyes

as a convincing mirror

to the beauty and strength

of your person—

to your potentialities

and accumulated wealth

of diverse experiences

and to the bigger freedom

you still can enjoy and use

to seek, through crossroads,

the lifepath

that would make you

most profoundly happy—

self-actualizing, soul-growing

and self-assured.

believe me as mirror to you,

inner beauty shining through

for i am not stupid or blind;

believe that i see

your foul moods, too.

trust this mirror—

showing no illusions,

only the many reasons

for my gratitude

and full admiration.

Napindan,Taguig August 7, 1998

 

 

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28.

           Beyond All Prisons

a skull contains my brain,

and ribs have my heart,

well encased within,

but these barriers

can not restrain

my thoughts,

my feelings,

my will…

from going far

beyond my skin!

Fort Bonifacio, Makati 1976

 

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29.

           My First Farewell

I.

To each with life, whether human,

animal or plant, death of body

is an unalterable certainty

Part of Life’s very mystery,

as God had planned, is that

to its fated end it flows inexorably.

For almost all, however, the time

of death’s coming is something one

cannot predict and foresee

Jose Rizal, one of the greatest

of the heroes of our beloved

Motherland, the Philippines,

Was afforded the distinct honor

and opportunity — the colonial

military court had set the date

Even the hour of his execution

by musketry to ensure

that he would forever be stilled

So, across the hours of that night,

on death’s eve, he let flow

through his pen a loving poem,

It was a fond farewell, that his own heart

heaved love so great, in no less

than a valedictory.

Such opportunity has to all others

been denied, denied to all

whose lives were gone in a flash

All the others who had cared

for our Motherland so, spoke such

love not by words but their lives!

               

 

II.

Even an inkling have I not when, really,

shall it be that I would finally

breathe my last.

As infant I had lain near-dead,

with a ready coffin; Sobbing had

already started by my next of kin

But the mysterious ailments that had me

in their grip suddenly disappeared

and I got instantly healed.

From that time more than five decades

have rushed by, Thank God,

a bonus life for me was bequeathed!

Despite all the moments of peril

to this precious life that I have

knowingly or unknowingly faced.

My time has still not come, up to these

very moments when I am

weaving words to form this poem.

Still unsure am I, if really I can get

this piece finished, If the next sunrise

would find me still breathing.

In just these past few days quite a number

of my friends had gone to their rest

or were brought to the brink.

Should I sigh out my farewell

to my Beloved Nation, after being

overtaken by the stealth of my end?

I seek now to imitate Rizal, about the time

of the 110th anniversary of

his Ultimo Adios; this is my first!

 

III.

As has been usual before fond farewells

are said I seek to declare

some advanced requests:

Accord value and attention not to my

mortal remains that are like clothing

already put aside by Life.

Focus not on my hole-studded shoes

with worn-out soles, ponder, instead,

the footprints being left behind

For these are markings made not merely

by my feet but by my real self

as no less than spirit!

Rather than spend time to think

of that pair of shoes that has been

taken off and is wasting away

Ponder well the story and statement

of my footprints; know well the paths

they had chosen to tread.

I did make profuse attempts

to explain well about the spirit

and content of all these efforts,

But many of them, even from among

the ranks of my workmates

have yet to firmly decide

To really patiently listen to my statements,

to read and comprehend well

my explanations.

After I depart, may they remember to

review them and even as these are long,

to comprehend them this time.

 

IV.

In this same farewell, to my beloved

siblings, fellow-offspring of

Inang Bayan, I seek to share

These grains of light that I have gathered

from my own experiences

and from those of my workmates.

Most important among these is this

two-fold challenge and call

that I raise before all the people

Of this nation, the Philippines,

and of the whole world — bloom as

humans and behave as fellow-humans!

Accord this a real fulfillment

by day-to-day living of each one of us

as created in the image and likeness

Of the Creator – with innermost spirit

glowing in goodness flowing

from limitless unconditional love

And boundless almighty power

that fully deserves to be reflected in an

invincible sense of confidence.

Let Rizal be our model in self-development

and actualization as human beings

fully worthy of this exalted term.

And let Bonifacio shine as the epitome

of fully living the spirit of oneness

among fellow-humans or kapwà

Let us love our fellow-humans, knowing

well the lesson from our sage Jacinto:

The humanity of all is only one!

 

V.

Our Motherland is now prostrate,

victim of battering

at the hands of greedy exploiters

Who despise our capabilities,

using as justification widespread traits

that we have only acquired

From enslavement for less than the past

half-millennium, thus completely

ignoring, turning a blind eye,

Denying the innate honor and nobility

of our race, our honesty,

love for work and levels of skill,

That had lasted across many thousands

of years; sunk into dependence,

we have been exploited

Many of us who love those of our brothers

and sisters who are now mired

in deep impoverishment

Have been misguided about the way

to show concern and to extend

assistance to the poorest among us,

And unwittingly foment among the broad

populace a disempowering

culture of dependency.

May we all be able

to teach others how to fish

instead of daily doling out fish

Bring into play a renewed bayanihan,

our collective forward movement

through the tangkilikán way

 

VI.

Whoever is helped has the responsibility

to develop their own knowledge

and exert their own efforts,For whoever rises absolutely dependent

on others cannot really stand up

on his own two feet;

He is but lifted like a soft blanket raised.

if the hold be slackened

it slumps back down!

Building such knowledge and capabilities

of people has been attempted

by many organizations,

Including those that I have spent time

to initiate in formation, consolidation

and expansion,

But apparently I have been unable to

explain fully well this framework

even if only to my workmates,

So while these groups

have accomplished much, many people

have remained virtually unaided

In discovering their wisdom and various

capabilities based on knowledge

from their own experiences.

What our beloved Motherland,

the Philippines, needs

is the real attainment of synergy

Among Filipinos who have deep-seated

initiative, confidence, and perseverance

for the upliftment of all

 

VII.

For as long as my lungs continue

to breathe in the remaining years

that I shall remain alive,

I shall help in carrying forward the torch

of such efforts for the deliverance

of our people,

I shall continue to resist the temptations

of exhaustion and defeat all those threats

of ultimate failure,

And go on linking up those who should

be teaming up, reconciling those

who are in senseless conflict,

Helping strengthen further the cooperation

among us who have started to practice

"bayanihan" synergy,

So confident am I that with my passing,

the great torch of the effort

to attain oneness shall be carried on,

Ever forward, by many who shall join us

and remain with our Pamayanang

Sanib-lakás ng Pilipinas.

My love for our people, for our nation,

shall continue being lived along the path

that I have chosen—

To help our people and our communities

fully realize: we are, precisely, our

Inang Bayang Magiliw

No other would love and care more

for the Philippines if not we, ourself,

if not our synergized self!

The final call in my First Farewell is this:

Synergize and rise up on our feet,

Beloved Philippines!!

May my footprints be reexamined

to yield some lessons. Let us live long,

and live well for our Motherland,

Live well until we finally breathe our last!

 

Makati, Philippines, December 29, 2006

(117th anniversary of Rizal’s Mi Ultimo Adios)

translated into English on April 26, 2007

U.P. System’s Rizal Martyrdom Centennial reenactment of Rizal's execution,

held in Intramuros, Manila, on December 19, 1996.

 

Back to list.


30.

           Period

 

 

 

I wish I could smile

As I lie in my grave

An apt period to end

The statement of my life.

 

translated from four-line original in Tagalog written in February 23, 1984


uploading of remaining poems will continue in coming weeks