“The Philippine National Anthem”

This poem is translated by Camilo Osias and M.A Lane. This poem is
about
"Sampaguita Song"

The sampaguita song is written by Marjorie Evasco for her suki at

Quirino Highway that she always buy some of that flowers. This poem is
about a child who sells sampaguita for a living. This poem made the
readers realize the daily struggles of vendors and how they try hard to
make ends meet.

In the first three stanzas of the poem, it states how the persona
spends her day in the busy street and how the traffic jam made way for
her to notice the sampaguita child vendor. How the vendor strive to
get near the cars just to sell sampaguita, not minding the danger of
what he/she is doing. Even if the street is dark he/she still continues to
sell the small, fresh and good smelling flower called samapaguita.

The last two stanzas describes how the sampaguita brings back
thousand memories to the persona .How the smell of sampaguita
reminded her the life she had on the province and how she misses it. It
also shows how the sampaguita flowers played a role in the lives of
both the vendor and the persona.

This is the reality of life, our country experiences an overwhelming

poverty. And it's affecting the lives of people especially the children.
Instead of going to school to learn and have fun just like the other kids
they are busy working to have a decent meal. This poem serves as a
reminder to all of us to not belittle vendors and not make fun of them.
That we should try to help others and that in every little thing we do it
has a bigger effect on the life of others, not just an individual emotions
but in general state of life of others.
“To the Filipino flag: A Salutation”

The poem “To the Filipino flag: A Salutation” is written by Guillermo

V. Sison. This poem is about the Philippine flag, our flag that symbolizes
our freedom and is one of the most important treasures of our country,
because it reminds us the bravery of our fellow Filipinos who sacrificed
and dedicated their life for our country and for us. It holds our history
that will never be forgotten and will remain in our memories and hearts
forever. It is the symbol of struggle to gain independence, identity and
nationhood.

This poem indicates that we should honor our flag and engrave in
our hearts that the threads of the flag are the embodiment of the
Filipino spirit, our glory as an independent nation, and an enduring
aspiration for the betterment of our people.

It reminds us of the true meaning of freedom, unity and love for

our country. That as a Filipino and descendants, it is our obligation and
responsibility to defend our country from invaders, that we shouldn’t let
others make us become slave in our own country again. That we
should keep the peace in our nation and we shouldn’t let the sacrifices
of our fellow Filipinos be in vain. It shows us the true meaning of being a
Filipino and that we should be always be proud of it.
“To the Philippine Youth"

The poem “To the Philippine Youth” is written by our national hero,
Dr. Jose Rizal. It’s about the Filipino youth, us, who are the hope of our
nation. It’s about a fellow Filipino, an older one, encouraging and
giving advice to the youth. That we should have confidence in
ourselves and we should aim high. That we should rise up and seek
what our hearts desires. That we should realize that there is a potential
within us and we should make use of our abilities. That we shouldn't limit
ourselves, and let our fears stop us and hold us from what we are
capable of and we can do.

In the poem, the Spaniards was mentioned in the fourth stanza. It

indicates that the persona wants the youth to free our land from the
Spaniards but as the poem continues it emphasizes the intellectual
capability of Filipinos. Thus indicating that we should fight them with
knowledge.

This poem serves as a calling for the youth that it's time for us
to take action and believe in ourselves. That we shouldn't be a coward
and voice out our opinions. We should prove to the world that we are
worthy of being respected and being looked upon.

We can say that the persona trust the youth a lot and that he/she
believes that if we set our mind to do something, we can accomplish it.
The persona also believes that the youth can change the future for the
better. He/she believes that the youth gives hope and life. The persona
saw the potential of the youth that is why he addressed this one to
them. This poem is very inspiring and invokes a sense of patriotism and
nationalism.
“To a lost one”

The poem “To a lost one “is written by Angela Manalang- Gloria.
The poem is about the longingness of a dead person to the one he/she
left behind and not wanting to be forgotten. It’s the point of view of a
dead person instead of the one grieving for him/her. A dark
atmosphere is created when reading the lines of the poem. Grief and
regret are the emotions that are dominant on the whole poem.

The first four lines of the poem indicates that the dead person is
lonely for being separated with his loved one and because of this
he/she continually visits him/her through his/her dreams.

The fifth to the last line of the poem focuses on the fear of being
forgotten. The persona tells the addressee to not forget him/her, for
their memories and the time they’ve spent together is worthy of not
being forgotten. And if he/she ever does, the persona will remind
him/her through the light of stars in the night, scent of wild champakas
and the melody of the falling rain. These signs will serves as the
representation of the persona for the addressee to see.

The words used in the poem that contains symbolisms are twilight,
champakas and rain. The twilight in the first line means feeling of being
haunted, the champakas means spirit of the dead and, the rain
connotes the sound of weeping.

Overall, the person who died still cannot move on to the

next life. For the persona have some things that he/she hasn’t done
and said to his/her loved one.
“Amira”

The poem “Amira” is written by Mae Roca. It’s about a mother

who works abroad and leaves her baby girl in her home country. The
lines “Racing through oceans and miles, nibbling over my fingers, the
number of days and months.” clearly states that one of them is far
away from the other. The name “Amira “is a Muslim name for princess”
which is applicable since a mother’s princess would always be her
daughter.

The first stanza of the poem indicates that the persona’s mind is
at ease yet she is still anxious because she can’t help but think about
her daughter that she had to leave behind. The second stanza talks
about the what has and could’ve been .The memory of her daughters
coos and cries are now only echoes because she will never be able to
witness her growing up . Her regret of not being able to keep track of
how the infant grows into woman truly pains the mother. But she has to
confront the reality that she is only one of many filipino mothers who
have to leave their families for a job abroad. While there are many
theories on what this poem is about, the main essence of this poem is
of a mother who longs for her child.
“First, A Poem Must Be Magical”

The poem “First, A Poem Must Be Magical” is basically a poem that

gives instructions on how to write a poem properly and what qualities
make poetry good and satisfactory. This is written by Mr. Jose Garcia
Villa who is a Famous Filipino Poet, writer, painter and was awarded the
National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973.

Now, let us move on to the symbolism of the poem. Since this

holds the key for the reader to fully understand this poem. A poem
should be a rarity and something unheard of like musical as a seagull. It
must also be captivating and intriguing. A poem must be similar to a
bird which looks like a flower bud when its wings are folded and when it
flies with its wings spread. This also indicates that it must also take flight,
that it must inspire and give a new perspective to a reader. The poem
should look plain but once the reader has read it, it must contain a lot
of wonder in it. Fire symbolizes the spirit of the poem. The reader must
feel what the author wants them to feel. If the poem is about anger,
the reader must feel the anger in the poem. The bow symbolizes the
author’s aim on how he should impact the audience. The author must
know how to target the reader’s feelings .Kneel like a rose means
humility. The poem must be humble. Luminance of dove and deer. The
title of the poem must summarize everything.Like when you see a dove,
you know that the dove symbolizes purity.And that concludes the end
of this poem.