SA AKING MGA KABATA

THE SONG OF THE TRAVELER

Kapagka ang baya'y sadyng umiibig

Sa kanyng salitng kaloob ng langit,
Sanglang kalayaan nasa ring masapit
Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.

Like to a leaf that is fallen and

withered,
Tossed by the tempest from pole unto
pole;
Thus roams the pilgrim abroad without
purpose,
Roams without love, without country
or soul.

Pagka't ang salita'y isang kahatulan

Sa bayan, sa nayo't mga kaharin,
At ang isng tao'y katulad, kabagay
Ng alin mang likha noong kalayan.
Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salit
Mahigit sa hayop at malansng isd,
Kay ang marapat pagyamaning kus
Na tulad sa inng tunay na nagpal.
Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin
Sa Ingls, Kastil at salitang anghel,
Sapagka't ang Poong maalam
tumingn
Ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa
atin.
Ang salita nati'y huwad din sa iba
Na may alfabeto at sariling letra,
Na kaya nawal'y dinatnan ng sigw
Ang lunday sa law nong dakong
una.

Following anxiously treacherous

fortune,
Fortune which e 'en as he grasps at it
flees ;
Vain though the hopes that his
yearning is seeking,
Yet does the pilgrim embark on the
seas !
Ever impelled by the invisible power,
Destined to roam from the East to the
West ;
Oft he remembers the faces of loved
ones,
Dreams of the day when he, too, was
at rest.
Chance may assign him a tomb on the
desert,
Grant him a final asylum of peace ;
Soon by the world and his country
forgotten,
God rest his soul when his wanderings
cease !
Often the sorrowing pilgrim is envied,
Circling the globe like a sea-gull above
;
Little, ah, little they know what a void
Saddens his soul by the absence of
love.
Home may the pilgrim return in the
future,
Back to his loved ones his footsteps he
bends ;
Naught will he find but the snow and
the ruins,

Ashes of love and the tomb of his

friends,
Pilgrim, be gone! Nor return more
hereafter,
Stranger thou art in the land of thy
birth ;
Others may sing of their love while
rejoicing,
Thou once again must roam o'er the
earth.
Pilgrim, be gone! Nor return more
hereafter,
Dry are the tears that a while for thee
ran ;
Pilgrim, be gone! And forget thine
affliction,
Loud laughs the world at the sorrows
of man.

It humbles barbarous nations

And it makes of savages champions.
And like the spring that nourishes
The plants, the bushes of the meads,
She goes on spilling her placid wealth,
And with kind eagerness she constantly
feeds,
The river banks through which she slips,
And to beautiful nature all she concedes,
So whoever procures education wise
Until the height of honor may rise.
From her lips the waters crystalline
Gush forth without end, of divine virtue,
And prudent doctrines of her faith
The forces weak of evil subdue,
That break apart like the whitish waves
That lash upon the motionless shoreline:
And to climb the heavenly ways the
people
Do learn with her noble example.

EDUCATION GIVES LUSTER TO THE

MOTHERLAND
Wise education, vital breath
Inspires an enchanting virtue;
She puts the Country in the lofty seat
Of endless glory, of dazzling glow,
And just as the gentle aura's puf
Do brighten the perfumed flower's hue:
So education with a wise, guiding hand,
A benefactress, exalts the human band.
Man's placid repose and earthly life
To education he dedicates
Because of her, art and science are born
Man; and as from the high mount above
The pure rivulet flows, undulates,
So education beyond measure
Gives the Country tranquility secure.
Where wise education raises a throne
Sprightly youth are invigorated,
Who with firm stand error they subdue
And with noble ideas are exalted;
It breaks immortality's neck,
Contemptible crime before it is halted:

In the wretched human beings' breast

The living flame of good she lights
The hands of criminal fierce she ties,
And fill the faithful hearts with delights,
Which seeks her secrets beneficent
And in the love for the good her breast she
incites,
And it's th' education noble and pure
Of human life the balsam sure.
And like a rock that rises with pride
In the middle of the turbulent waves
When hurricane and fierce Notus roar
She disregards their fury and raves,
That weary of the horror great
So frightened calmly of they stave;
Such is one by wise education steered
He holds the Country's reins unconquered.
His achievements on sapphires are
engraved;
The Country pays him a thousand honors;
For in the noble breasts of her sons

Virtue transplanted luxuriant flow'rs;

And in the love of good e'er disposed
Will see the lords and governors
The noble people with loyal venture
Christian education always procure.

See that in the ardent zone,

The Spaniard, where shadows stand,
Doth ofer a shining crown,
With wise and merciful hand
To the son of this Indian land.

And like the golden sun of the morn

Whose rays resplendent shedding gold,
And like fair aurora of gold and red
She overspreads her colors bold;
Such true education proudly gives
The pleasure of virtue to young and old
And she enlightens out Motherland dear
As she ofers endless glow and luster.

You, who heavenward rise

On wings of your rich fantasy,
Seek in the Olympian skies
The most tender 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;

TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH

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.

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;
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.

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,
Poured 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 loved 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.

MY LAST FAREWELL
Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the
sun caressed
Pearl 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
blest
Still 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,
Scafold or open plain, combat or
martyrdom's plight,
T is ever the same, to serve our home
and country's need.

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 might
aspire;
And sleep in thy bosom eternity's long
night.

If over my grave someday thou sees

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 protest
Let some kind soul over my untimely
fate sigh,
And in the still evening a prayer be
lifted on high
From thee, 0 my country, that in God I
may rest.

And even my grave is remembered no

more
Unmarked by never a cross nor a
stone
Let 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.

Pray for all those that hapless have

died,
For all who have sufered the
unmeasured pain;
For our mothers that bitterly their
woes have cried,
For widows and orphans, for captives
by torture tried
And then for thyself that redemption
thou might gain.

My Fatherland adored, that sadness to

my sorrow lends
Beloved 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 ever on high!

And when the dark night wraps the

graveyard around
With only the dead in their vigil to see
Break not my repose or the mystery
profound
And perchance thou might hear a sad
hymn resound
'T is I, O my country, raising a song
unto thee.

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!