DE CHAVEZ, PAOLA NICOLE V.

MI ULTIMO ADIOS

(MY LAST FAREWELL)

INTERPRETATION
‘’Farewell, beloved Country, treasured region of the sun,

Pearl of the sea of the Orient, our lost Eden!

To you eagerly I surrender this sad and gloomy life;

And were it brighter, fresher, more florid,

Even then I’d give it to you, for your sake alone’’

 The first stanza speaks about Rizal’s own description of his Fatherland. He compared
the Pre-Hispanic Philippines to the biblical Garden of Eden, to describe how pure and
innocent the country used to be. He expressed his adoration towards the country he and
the others were fighting for, and voiced out how glad he was to be able to surrender his
life to the Philippines.

In fields of battle, deliriously fighting,

Others give you their lives, without doubt, without regret;

The place matters not: where there’s cypress, laurel or lily,

On a plank or open field, in combat or cruel martyrdom,

It’s all the same if the home or country asks.

 The second stanza speaks about the men who gave their life for his beloved country.
Rizal said that their dedication and patriotism to the country is without second thoughts.
It doesn’t matter how one struggles, that all struggles, all deaths, are worth it if it is for
the good of the country.

I die when I see the sky has unfurled its colors

And at last after a cloak of darkness announces the day;

If you need scarlet to tint your dawn,

Shed my blood, pour it as the moment comes,

And may it be gilded by a reflection of the heaven’s newly-born light.

 The third stanza speaks about Rizal’s love of liberty. The image of dawn that Rizal used
in the first line signifies the liberation that he adores. In the third and fourth line, he says
 that if the color of liberation lacks his blood, he must die for the country to attain
freedom.

My dreams, when scarcely an adolescent,

My dreams, when a young man already full of life,

Were to see you one day, jewel of the sea of the Orient,

Dry those eyes of black, that forehead high,

Without frown, without wrinkles, without stains of shame

 The fourth stanza presents, Rizal love for country started when he was still young. He
dreamed of seeing this country in renowned liberation, free from sadness and misery.

My life's fancy, my ardent, passionate desire,

Hail! Cries out the soul to you, that will soon part from thee;
Hail! How sweet 'tis to fall that fullness you may acquire;
To die to give you life, 'neath your skies to expire,
And in your mystic land to sleep through eternity!

 He dream of liberation is his desire to dedicate his life to our beloved country. ‘’All Hail!’’
is a positive greeting of his near death and he is willing to give his life even if it would be
ended, He won’t feel sorry.

If over my tomb some day, you would see blow,

A simple humble flow'r amidst thick grasses,
Bring it up to your lips and kiss my soul so,
And under the cold tomb, I may feel on my brow,
Warmth of your breath, a whiff of your tenderness.

 When the country develops and there’s of Independence someday, he will be forgotten.
Rizal likens his soul to that of “a simple humble flower amidst thick grasses.” He
imagines that after his death, he will live on in the bosom of his motherland, and never
cease to enjoy her love, which he begs her to express with a kiss.

Let the moon with soft, gentle light me descry,

Let the dawn send forth its fleeting, brilliant light,
In murmurs grave allow the wind to sigh,
And should a bird descend on my cross and alight,
Let the bird intone a song of peace o'er my site.

 Rizal says he wants to see or feel the moon, dawn, wind, and a bird over his grave. The
moon’s beam may represent a night without its gloom like a country without oppressors.
The imagery of dawn has been repeated here and its radiant flashes represent the
shining light of redemption that sheds over his honor. Only the wind will lament over his
grave. The bird does not lament him but sings of peace, the peace that comes with
liberation and the peace with which he rests below.

Let the burning sun the raindrops vaporize

And with my clamor behind return pure to the sky;
Let a friend shed tears over my early demise;
And on quiet afternoons when one prays for me on high,
Pray too, oh, my Motherland, that in God may rest I.

 The metaphor of the sun drawing the vapors up to the sky signifies that the earth is
being cleansed by the sun like taking away the sorrows and tears that has shed
including his last cry. Line 3 reminds us to remember why he died – for the redemption
of the country. That Rizal beseeches his country to pray that his soul may rest in God is
in line with the Roman Catholic belief that all men are sinners and that salvation is to be
earned and cannot be determined before the grave.

Pray thee for all the hapless who have died,

For all those who unequalled torments have undergone;
For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried;
For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied,
And pray too that you may see your own redemption.

 Ask for God’s mercy to the people who are miserable in deep pain. Also Rizal says pray
him too, for we all are deserving to gain redemption.

And when the dark night wraps the cemet'ry

And only the dead to vigil there are left alone,
Don't disturb their repose, don't disturb the mystery:
If you hear the sounds of cittern or psaltery,
It is I, dear Country, who, a song t'you intone.

 Clearly Rizal has not imagined that a monument would eventually be built over his grave
and has pictured his final resting place as a humble cemetery where he shall, even after
death, sing a song of devotion for his motherland.

And when my grave by all is no more remembered,

With neither cross nor stone to mark its place,
Let it be plowed by man, with spade let it be scattered
And my ashes ere to nothingness are restored,
Let them turn to dust to cover your earthly space.

 He want to be useful even if he already dead. Let his grave still be useful for growing
crops. Let the plow pass over his and cultivate what he can offer before his fertile soil be
gone.

Then it doesn't matter that you should forget me:

Your atmosphere, your skies, your vales I'll sweep;
Vibrant and clear note to your ears I shall be:
Aroma, light, hues, murmur, song, moanings deep,
Constantly repeating the essence of the faith I keep.

 Being forgotten does not matter to his for he would travel distant and wide place over my
beloved Fatherland. He will always keep his faith as he sing the hymn of our nation.

My idolized Country, for whom I most gravely pine,

Dear Philippines, to my last goodbye, oh, hearken
There I leave all: my parents, loves of mine,
I'll go where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen
Where faith does not kill and where God alone does reign.

 Rizal bids farewell to his one great love – his country – and yet looks forward to being
with God, where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen.

Farewell, parents, brothers, beloved by me,

Friends of my childhood, in the home distressed;
Give thanks that now I rest from the wearisome day;
Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, who brightened my way;
Farewell, to all I love. To die is to rest.

 ‘’In Death there is rest!’’ means that he, being set to be sentenced to death, accepts all
bravery after fighting for the freedom and is glad to die in peace.

-JOSE RIZAL, 1896