Mi Ultimo Adios/ My Last Farewell

SPANISH

¡Adiós, Patria adorada, región del sol querida,Perla del mar de oriente, nuestro perdido Edén!A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida,Y fuera más brillante, más fresca, más Florida,También por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.

En campos de batalla, luchando con delirio,Otros te dan sus vidas sin dudas, sin pesar;El sitio nada importa, ciprés, laurel o lirio,Cadalso o campo abierto, combate o cruel martirio,Lo mismo es si lo piden la patria y el hogar.

Yo muero cuando veo que el cielo se coloraY al fin anuncia el día tras lóbrego capuz;si grana necesitas para teñir tu aurora,Vierte la sangre mía, derrámala en buen horaY dórela un reflejo de su naciente luz.

Mis sueños cuando apenas muchacho adolescente,Mis sueños cuando joven ya lleno de vigor,Fueron el verte un día, joya del mar de oriente,Secos los negros ojos, alta la tersa frente,Sin ceño, sin arrugas, sin manchas de rubor

Ensueño de mi vida, mi ardiente vivo anhelo,¡Salud te grita el alma que pronto va a partir!¡Salud! Ah, que es hermoso caer por darte vuelo,Morir por darte vida, morir bajo tu cielo,Y en tu encantada tierra la eternidad dormir.

Si sobre mi sepulcro vieres brotar un díaEntre la espesa yerba sencilla, humilde flor,Acércala a tus labios y besa al alma mía,Y sienta yo en mi frente bajo la tumba fría,De tu ternura el soplo, de tu hálito el calor.

Deja a la luna verme con luz tranquila y suave,Deja que el alba envíe su resplandor fugaz,Deja gemir al viento con su murmullo grave,

Y si desciende y posa sobre mi cruz un ave,Deja que el ave entone su cántico de paz.

Deja que el sol, ardiendo, las lluvias evaporeY al cielo tornen puras, con mi clamor en pos;Deja que un ser amigo mi fin temprano lloreY en las serenas tardes cuando por mí alguien ore,¡Ora también, oh Patria, por mi descanso a Dios!

Ora por todos cuantos murieron sin ventura,Por cuantos padecieron tormentos sin igual,Por nuestras pobres madres que gimen su amargura;Por huérfanos y viudas, por presos en torturaY ora por ti que veas tu redención final.

Y cuando en noche oscura se envuelva el cementerioY solos sólo muertos queden velando allí,No turbes su reposo, no turbes el misterio,Tal vez accordes oigas de cítara o salterio,Soy yo, querida Patria, yo que te canto a ti.

Y cuando ya mi tumba de todos olvidadaNo tenga cruz ni piedra que marquen su lugar,Deja que la are el hombre, la esparza con la azada,Y mis cenizas, antes que vuelvan a la nada,El polvo de tu alfombra que vayan a formar.

Entonces nada importa me pongas en olvido.Tu atmósfera, tu espacio, tus valles cruzaré.Vibrante y limpia nota seré para tu oído,Aroma, luz, colores, rumor, canto, gemido,Constante repitiendo la esencia de mi fe.

Mi patria idolatrada, dolor de mis dolores,Querida Filipinas, oye el postrer adiós.Ahí te dejo todo, mis padres, mis amores.Voy donde no hay esclavos, verdugos ni opresores,Donde la fe no mata, donde el que reina es Dios.

Adiós, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mía,Amigos de la infancia en el perdido hogar,Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso día;Adiós, dulce extranjera, mi amiga, mi alegría,Adiós, queridos seres, morir es descansar.

ENGLISH

Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress'dPearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!,Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life's best,And were it brighter, fresher, or more blestStill would I give it thee, nor count the cost.

On the field of battle, 'mid the frenzy of fight, Others have given their lives, without doubt or heed; The place matters not-cypress or laurel or lily white,Scaffold or open plain, combat or martyrdom's plight,T is ever the same, to serve our home and country's need.

I die just when I see the dawn break, Through the gloom of night, to herald the day; And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take,Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake To dye with its crimson the waking ray.

My dreams, when life first opened to me, My dreams, when the hopes of youth beat high, Were to see thy lov'd face, O gem of the Orient sea From gloom and grief, from care and sorrow free; No blush on thy brow, no tear in thine eye.

Dream of my life, my living and burning desire, All hail ! cries the soul that is now to take flight; All hail ! And sweet it is for thee to expire ; 

To die for thy sake, that thou mayst aspire;And sleep in thy bosom eternity's long night.

If over my grave someday thou seest grow, In the grassy sod, a humble flower, Draw it to thy lips and kiss my soul so,While I may feel on my brow in the cold tomb below The touch of thy tenderness, thy breath's warm power.

Let the moon beam over me soft and serene, Let the dawn shed over me its radiant flashes, Let the wind with sad lament over me keen ; And if on my cross a bird should be seen, Let it trill there its hymn of peace to my ashes.

Let the sun draw the vapors up to the sky,And heavenward in purity bear my tardy protestLet some kind soul o 'er my untimely fate sigh,And in the still evening a prayer be lifted on highFrom thee, 0 my country, that in God I may rest.

Pray for all those that hapless have died,For all who have suffered the unmeasur'd pain;For our mothers that bitterly their woes have cried,For widows and orphans, for captives by torture triedAnd then for thyself that redemption thou mayst gain.

And when the dark night wraps the graveyard aroundWith only the dead in their vigil to seeBreak not my repose or the mystery profoundAnd perchance thou mayst hear a sad hymn resound'T is I, O my country, raising a song unto thee.

And even my grave is remembered no moreUnmark'd by never a cross nor a stoneLet the plow sweep through it, the spade turn it o'er

That my ashes may carpet earthly floor,Before into nothingness at last they are blown.

Then will oblivion bring to me no care As over thy vales and plains I sweep;Throbbing and cleansed in thy space and air With color and light, with song and lament I fare, Ever repeating the faith that I keep.

My Fatherland ador'd, that sadness to my sorrow lendsBeloved Filipinas, hear now my last good-by! I give thee all: parents and kindred and friends

For I go where no slave before the oppressor bends,Where faith can never kill, and God reigns e'er on high!

Farewell to you all, from my soul torn away,Friends of my childhood in the home dispossessed !Give thanks that I rest from the wearisome day !Farewell to thee, too, sweet friend that lightened my way;Beloved creatures all, farewell! In death there is rest !

Translated by Charles Derbyshire

Written inside his prison cell on Fort Santiago "On the afternoon of Dec. 29, 1896, a day before his execution, Dr. José Rizal was visited by his

mother, Teodora Alonzo, sisters Lucia, Josefa, Trinidád, Maria and Narcisa, and two nephews. When they took their leave, Rizal told Trinidád in English that there was something in the small alcohol stove (cocinilla), not alcohol lamp (lamparilla). The stove was given to Narcisa by the guard when the party was about to board their carriage in the courtyard. At home, the Rizal ladies recovered from the stove a folded paper. On it was written an unsigned, untitled and undated poem of 14 five-line stanzas. The Rizals reproduced copies of the poem and sent them to Rizal's friends in the country and abroad. In 1897, Mariano Ponce in Hong Kong had the poem printed with the title "Mi Ultimo Pensamiento." Fr. Mariano Dacanay, who received a copy of the poem while a prisoner in Bilibid (jail), published it in the first issue of La Independencia on Sept. 25, 1898 with the title 'Ultimo Adios'.

Rizal did not ascribe a title to his poem. Mariano Ponce, his friend and fellow reformist, titled it Mi Último Pensamiento ("My Last Thought") in the copies he distributed, but this did not catch on.

Stanza 1

Rizal bids good-bye to the land of his birth, the land of sunshine which he calls, “Pearl of the Orient Seas”. He also calls it, “Our Eden Lost” because his beloved country is under the tyrannical rule of Spaniards. There is no freedom for all Filipinos. They are slaves to the foreigners (Spaniards).

He loves his country so much that he is happy to die for it. He is willing to offer everything for the land of his birth. He considers life as “faded life” at age 35. Even if he was younger and more brilliant, still he would offer it for his fatherland.

Stanza 2

Serving one’s country can be in different ways. One may be a soldier who dies in battlefield, life the 44 Special Action Force men who died in Mamasapano in Maguindanao, It maybe in the form of being a loyal public servant who dies while doing his job, as in the cas of Jesse Robredo of Bicol, who died in a plane crash, after he attended an activity in Cebu City upon orders of PNoy.

Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora were executed through a guillotine or scaffold who are considered martyrs just like Rizal, who would be shot on December 30, 1896 because of his writings that were considered as subversive by the Spaniards, who believed that Rizal incited his countrymen to rebellion against Spain.

Stanza 3

Rizal was aware of the fact that, upon his death, many Filipinos will rise in rebellion to fight for freedom. He knew about Andres Bonifacio and his Katipuneros and of other group of Filipinos who were ready to rise in arms against the cruel Spaniards.

Rizal knew that soon, the Philippines would attain independence. That his death would contribute to the collective efforts of many Filipinos to fight the Spaniards and that his death would only inspire more of his countrymen to join the struggle for attaining freedom from the colonizers.

It does not matter if he is no longer alive to enjoy this freedom. What matters is that he si one of the many who brought about this freedom.

Stanza 4

When Rizal was born in June 19, 1861, the Philippines was under the control of Spain. Having witnessed the cruelty of the Spanish colonizers and the friars, he grew up with the intense desire to see his country free and happy. He calls the Philippines “Gem of the Orient Sea” because our country is beautiful. It is rich natural resources, no foreigner has the right to abuse the Filipinos, the oppressors (Spanish officials and friars) should be stopped, no matter what the cost. They should be driven away from our shores.

So even as a young man, he already dreamed of seeing his country free from the cruel rule of Spain. That he should do something to make this happen

Stanza 5

Rizal, who is about to die, hails his beloved country as “the dream of his life”, his “living and burning desire”. He considers dying for his country, a great privilege because his martyrdom will help his country, to improve the lives of all Filipinos. He considers his death, just “Sleep in thy bosom eternity’s long night”. Just like a child sleeping with his head resting on his mother’s breasts and loving arms.

Stanza 6

He, Rizal, imagines the possibility of a flower blooming over his grave, “someday”. He tells his reader to kiss the flower where his soul is, also he says that his soul is in the flower, and when someone kisses that flower, he will feel the tender touch of “The breath’s warm power”. It will be like, he is the child being kissed by his beloved motherland whose warm and tender touch he appreciates and longs for.

Stanza 7

Rizal imagines the moonlight over his grave at night and the “radiant flashes” of dawn and “the wind with the sad lament over me keen”. Maybe, a bird would perch on the cross over his grave. He wants the bird to trill/sing “a hymn of peace” to his remains.

Stanza 8

He wants the sun to “draw the vapors up to the sky” and carry up to heaven his “tardy protest” about the injustice done to him by the Spaniards. His early death by firing squad in Bagumbayan. He also request that a kind soul will thing about his untimely death, that “a prayer be lifted on high” that he may rest and find peace in God.

(Of course, his country continues to remember. Rizal to this day. He is our national hero and we do pray for him to be in God’s loving arms for eternity)

Stanza 9

Rizal believed in the power of prayer. He asked his countrymen to pray for those who died while being tortured. For those victim of Spanish cruelty, for mothers who lost their children under the tyranny of the rulers. For widows and orphans of men, who died while in captivity. For husbands and father who were killed while defending their homeland. Finally, he asks that his countrymen to pray for redemption, for freedom, for independence, for self-rule (which we now enjoy because of heroes, like Rizal).

Stanza 10

Rizal envisions a scenario in the cemetery where he is buried and it is very late in the evening. And there is only complete silence. Everything is quiet. In death, there is repose (rest) and mystery because we really do not exactly know what awaits us after death.

When everybody is asleep, and there is only silence in the dead of the night, even the smallest sound can be heard, like the blowing of a gentle breeze. On the moaning of the wind

Rizal says, he is in the wind, “raising a song unto thee”. As a spirit/ a soul, he can be with the gentle wind, singing a “sad hymn” for his country.

Stanza 11

There comes a time when Rizal’s grave is “remembered no more”. He imagine the time when there are no more markers on the grave, no cross, no stone. It is possible that someone (a farmer perhaps) will plow through it, or use a spade to turn it over. Then, his ashes will mix with the earth. And when the wind blows over the earth, his ashes will be blown away too. And he will be everywhere the wind blows. Just like the spirit that can be anywhere.

Stanza 12

A time will come when Rizal will be forgotten. But then, he won’t mind being forgotten, because as a free spirit, he will sweep over the valleys and plains. He will be in every space and on the air, in color and in light. In the breeze and on the wind singing songs of love and faith for his country’s final deliverance, from oppression.

Stanza 13

The hero expresses sadness because he will soon die and leave his beloved Fatherland behind.

He also entrusts to his country, his parents, relatives, and friends from whom he will soon be separated when he dies

He believes that after death his soul will go to a place where there are no slaves, no oppressors, where everybody is equal before God who is Supreme over all things. In heaven, all are brothers and sisters. “Where faith can never kill” Rizal died because of his belief that freedom is the right of every country, even the Philippines.

Stanza 14

Again, the hero bids farewell to all, friends and countrymen, who have been deprived of their freedom to live their own lives, by the Spanish colonizers.

He tell them that they should be thankful that he can now rest from all of the struggles of life.

In the fourth line, he refers to Josephine Bracken, the “sweet friend that lightened” his way, Josephine bracken was his partner who lived with him in Dapitan, during his exile. He bids farewell, to her, too.

To all his loved ones, he says “goodbye”. He believes that “in death, there is rest” from life’s toils.

Mi Ultimo

Adios“LAST FAREWELL”

Submitted by:

BSME 4-A

Justin Alvin P. Caballa

Marwin R. Jimenez