My Favorite Filipino Poems

TO THE FILIPINO FLAG: A SALUTATION

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

Warmly, 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!

MACTAN

Virginia B. Licuanan

A messenger from the Spaniards came

That day in fifteen twenty-one;

He came in in Magellan's name

To the island of Mactan.

To Lapulapu who was the chief

That on Mactan did reign

He said “I ask in our leader's name

A tribute name for the king of Spain.”

“A tribute for a foreign king?”

He heard proud Lapulapu say.

“Tell your leader not tell a thing

Will the of this island pay.

“We and their fathers before

Have on this island live:

We owe no tribute to any king,

And no tribute shall we give.”

“if you do not give what we ask”

Was the messenger's reply

“The Spaniards will come with swords and guns

And you and your men shall die.”

“If they have guns,”Lapulapu said,

“So have we our weapons too;

If the Spaniard to our island come,

They shall see what bamboo spears can do.

“The Spaniards sword are made for steel

And their armors are strong and bright

Against all weapons we shall win

While we are in the right.”

Lapulapu's eyes flashed as he repeated ,

And his voice did proudly ring:

“We are freemen and will pay

No tribute to a foreign king.”

When Magellan heard Lapulapu words

He said with all disdain

“How dare this little chief affront

His Majesty of Spain.

“Our guns and this man's

False pride will break,

If he will not tribute give,

Then tribute we will take.

Well show this chief that our words

We can follow with our deed

Prepare three ships and sixty men

And I myself will lead.

For the island of Mactan

The Spaniards did set sail,

Their and swords are in great display

To make the enemy quail.

Their ships and armor were glittering show

Of military might

Never had the peaceful Mactan waters,

Mirror was a warlike sight

And when they anchored dropped

Off the palm-fringed Mactan shore ,

“I'll teach this chief a lesson,:

The Spanish leader swore

He lead his soldier to the beach

In full battle array.

“My men, for our king ' Magellan said

“Let us make this a proud day.”

We have guns and armor

Our enemy has none

Our sword against those bamboo spears.

The fight as good as won.

But Lapulapu stood proudly

As the Spanish drew near

“No Spaniards armor

Will save them from my spears.

“Aim true !” he told his men

“when your spears fling

Remember the freemen do not bow

To any foreign king.

Steel sword against bamboo spears

It seemed an uneven fight

And the Spanish armor

Increased each Spaniard might.

But Lapulapu and his brave men

Into the battle led

And soon the blue-green Mactan waters

With the Spaniard blow red

“Fight on my men “Magellan cried

“Fight for gracious Majesty.......”

“Fight on ,men in Mactan.”Lapulapu said,

“Fight for our liberty.

: The Cause of the Liberty lent more strength

Than the Spanish steel and lead

And soon Magellan lay dying ,

And his soldiers all had fled.

And Mactan is an island

That lives in history

Where man brave men died for a king

And another lived for liberty. 

THE TREE

By G. Burce Bunao

The tree was very beautiful to me

When I was a boy

I climbed for fruit or out of a branch of the tree

Made me a toy--

A top, for instance, that spun around, carefree

And wound for joy

Until it toppled over and was dead.

No longer the boy,

I find the tree as beautiful as though not

Just for branch

Or a bunch of fruit but-more than that-for a bed

Or to fence the ranch

In which I raise the beasts that fill the pot

In the many shapes

My simple commerce turn them to like bread

Or fish or grapes

To feed the brood the little woman me.

There go the boys.

Go watch them, strong limb; spread up the tree,

They pluck their toys

Out of its branches, as out of my childhood tree

I shaped my joys.

SOOTHING AS NIGHT WINDS ARE

Salvador B. Espinas

Love is gentle, love is quiet

Like any distant star

Love is beauty, love is music

Soothing as night winds are.

Love is patient and unselfish

Divine, true, neutral, fair –

Love is ageless and immortal,

Lost love is just somewhere

And the heart that abandons,

Nurses a tender scar,

Softly stabbing, and yet sweetly

Soothing as night winds are.

TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH

(A La Juventud Filipina)

Unfold, oh timid flower!

Lift up your radiant brow,

This day, Youth of my native strand!

Your abounding talents show

Resplendently and grand,

Fair hope of my Motherland!

Soar high, oh genius great,

And with noble thoughts fill their mind;

The honor’s glorious seat,

May their virgin mind fly and find

More rapidly than the wind.

Descend with the pleasing light

Of the arts and sciences to the plain,

Oh Youth, and break forthright

The links of the heavy chain

That your poetic genius enchain.

See that in the ardent zone,

The Spaniard, where shadows stand,

Doth offer a shining crown,

With wise and merciful hand

To the son of this Indian land.

You, who heavenward rise

On wings of your rich fantasy,

Seek in the Olympian skies

The tenderest poesy,

More sweet than divine honey;

You of heavenly harmony,

On a calm unperturbed night,

Philomel’s match in melody,

That in varied symphony

Dissipate man’s sorrow’s blight;

You at th’impulse of your mind

The hard rock animate

And your mind with great pow’r consigned

Transformed into immortal state

The pure mem’ry of genius great;

And you, who with magic brush

On canvas plain capture

The varied charm of Phoebus,

Loved by the divine Apelles,

And the mantle of Nature;

Run! For genius’ sacred flame

Awaits the artist’s crowning

Spreading far and wide the fame

Throughout the sphere proclaiming

With trumpet the mortal’s name

Oh, joyful, joyful day,

The Almighty blessed be

Who, with loving eagerness

Sends you luck and happiness.

     A la juventud filipina is a poem written in Spanish by Filipino writer and national hero José Rizal, first presented in 1879 in Manila, while he was studying at the University of Santo Tomas. "A la juventud filipina" was written by Rizal when he was only eighteen years old, and was dedicated to the Filipino Youth. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda or popularly known as José Rizal (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist and polymath during the tail end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. 

     An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal became a writer and a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement which advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain. He was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion after an anti-colonial revolution, inspired in part by his writings, broke out. Though he was not actively involved in its planning or conduct, he ultimately approved of its goals which eventually led to Philippine independence. He is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines, and is implied by Philippine law to be one of the national heroes. He was the author of the novels Noli Me Tángere, and El filibusterismo, and a number of poems and essays.

     Without a doubt, just like all the other poems conceived by our national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the poem “To the Filipino Youth” is a masterpiece worth reading and comprehending for. While I was examining its every line, I was entirely amazed on the three aspects that composed it: the manner of writing, the message it tries to stress, and the sincerity of the poem. These aspects, I must say, were the principal strengths of the poem; and the reasons why my attention was heavily caught through it.

      As to the manner of writing, if I were to base my judgments to the poem’s English translation, I can personally describe it as a “real poem”—that is, something that beautifully incorporated the essential elements of poetry. When I was trying to read it aloud, I felt like its rhythm sounded excellent and with drama. That thing made me feel more eager to continue reading it. The meter of the poem then followed a certain rule which I totally love for it showed the utmost effort of the author. Moreover, the figures of speech such as personification, alliteration and metaphor were somewhat perfectly laid down, making the poem more emotional, appealing, deep and colorful. On the other hand, the rhyming of the words also astonished me; the symbolisms then that were used such as the deities Phoebus and Apelles as symbols of their respective realms, were superb for it made the poem have a blending of Western and Eastern cultures.

     As to the message the poem tries to convey, or in another way of saying, the theme of the poem, “To the Filipino Youth” does carry a very strong one; strong enough to persuade those who are to be persuaded—the Filipino youth themselves. As one of those individuals, I could really feel the nationalistic spirit within me glow brighter the moment I finished reading the poem. It was like telling me that I am one of the existing hopes of our dear country and that through my abilities, expertise and knowledge of things, I am capable of protecting its freedom against oppressive forces that may come through. Furthermore, it was like telling me that together with my fellow youths, I am responsible for preserving the Philippines as a nation not for the foreigners but for me and the rest of the Filipinos.

     Finally yet most importantly, as to the sincerity of the poem, I can really consider “To the Filipino Youth” as indeed a work from the heart—no pretense, no plasticity and no sort of hidden motives. I can tell it so based on what I felt when I was reading the poem and the emotions that were expressed on each of the poem’s line. The fact that it came out during the Spanish era was also another thing that made me think that way. Conceiving a work that possesses an anti-Spain theme at that time would be a great threat to the life of the author. But despite that, Dr. Jose Rizal fearlessly created it, sticking to his nationalistic ideology no matter how dangerous the outcome would be to him. With that, I can say that he truly had the sincerity of delivering the message to the young Filipino people; and that this sincerity our national hero possessed can be vividly sensed in the poem even at a glance.