Poem: Mi Ultimo Adios by Jose Rizal

RonLiterature February 1, 20151 Comment

This is a poem by Dr. Jose Rizal, penned just hours before he was executed. The poem was
originally written in spanish and was not given any title. Rizal hid the paper containing the poem
in an alcohol stove which was later given to his sister Narcisa. Another possible poem was
written in a piece of paper hidden in Rizal’s shoes but the text became unreadable so its content
remains a mystery.

Mariano Ponce had the poem published in Hong Kong and gave it the title “Mi Ultimo
Pensamiento”. Father Mariano Dacanay, a Filipino priest, gave the poem the title “Ultimo
Adios”. So the poem came to be known as “Mi Ultimo Adios” or “My Last Farewell”. The poem
has been translated many times in a number of languages. One of the most popular translation is
the English version by Charles E. Derbyshire.

 English Version by Charles Derbyshire

 Original Spanish Version
 Picture of the Poem in Rizal’s Handwriting

Last Farewell
Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress’d
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,
Scaffold or open plain, combat or martyrdom’s plight,
‘Tis 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 some day 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 protest
Let some kind soul o ‘er 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.

Pray for all those that hapless have died,

For all who have suffered 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 mayst gain.

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 mayst hear a sad hymn resound
‘Tis I, O my country, raising a song unto thee.

And even my grave is remembered no more

Unmark’d 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.

My Fatherland ador’d, 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 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!

Mi Ultimo Adios
Adios, Patria adorada, region del sol querida,
Perla del Mar de Oriente, nuestro perdido Eden!
A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida,
Y fuera más brillante más fresca, más florida,
Tambien por tí 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 ó lirio,
Cadalso ó campo abierto, combate ó cruel martirio,
Lo mismo es si lo piden la patria y el hogar.

Yo muero cuando veo que el cielo se colora

Y al fin anuncia el día trás lóbrego capuz;
Si grana necesitas para teñir tu aurora,
Vierte la sangre mía, derrámala en buen hora
Y 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 á 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 dia

Entre 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 á 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 cantico de paz.

Deja que el sol ardiendo las lluvias evapore

Y al cielo tornen puras con mi clamor en pos,
Deja que un sér amigo mi fin temprano llore
Y en las serenas tardes cuando por mi alguien ore
Ora tambien, Oh Patria, por mi descanso á 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 tortura
Y ora por tí que veas tu redencion final.

Y cuando en noche oscura se envuelva el cementerio

Y solos sólo muertos queden velando allí,
No turbes su reposo, no turbes el misterio
Tal vez acordes oigas de citara ó salterio,
Soy yo, querida Patria, yo que te canto á ti.

Y cuando ya mi tumba de todos olvidada

No 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 á la nada,
El polvo de tu alfombra que vayan á formar.

Entonces nada importa me pongas en olvido,

Tu atmósfera, tu espacio, tus valles cruzaré,
Vibrante y limpia nota seré para tu oido,
Aroma, luz, colores, rumor, canto, gemido
Constante repitiendo la esencia de mi fé.
Mi Patria idolatrada, dolor de mis dolores,
Querida Filipinas, oye el postrer adios.
Ahi te dejo todo, mis padres, mis amores.
Voy donde no hay esclavos, verdugos ni opresores,
Donde la fé no mata, donde el que reyna es Dios.

Adios, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mía,

Amigos de la infancia en el perdido hogar,
Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso día;
Adios, dulce extrangera, mi amiga, mi alegria,
Adios, queridos séres morir es descansar.

INTERPRETATION

Interpretation: Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last

Farewell)
Farewell, my adored Land, region of the sun caressed,

Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost,

With gladness I give you my Life, sad and repressed;

And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its best,

I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.

These are the words of one about to die for his country. He expresses no regret but only gladness,
knowing that in giving his life, he is giving his country the greatest gift any citizen could offer.

On the fields of battle, in the fury of fight,

Others give you their lives without pain or hesitancy,

The place does not matter: cypress laurel, lily white,

Scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom's site,

It is the same if asked by home and Country.

Here Rizal says that it does not matter where one dies, but why one dies and to what purpose. Whether
it’s “scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom’s site,” all death hold the same honor if given for home
and Country.
I die as I see tints on the sky b'gin to show

And at last announce the day, after a gloomy night;

If you need a hue to dye your matutinal glow,

Pour my blood and at the right moment spread it so,

And gild it with a reflection of your nascent light!

Rizal’s execution was set at sunrise, thus the meaning of the first and second lines. He employs the
visual senses in his poetic use of color, and then in the third and fourth lines, adds the bright red tint of
his blood to the scene, and gilds it with golden sunlight. The use of these devices ignites passion in the
reader, as it is felt – a hundred times more so – in the writer, even without explicit use of words
signifying feeling.

My dreams, when scarcely a lad adolescent,

My dreams when already a youth, full of vigor to attain,

Were to see you, gem of the sea of the Orient,

Your dark eyes dry, smooth brow held to a high plane

Without frown, without wrinkles and of shame without stain.

Since his childhood, even as other children dreamed of childish things, Rizal dreamed of seeing his
country free, esteemed, and with head held high.

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!

Here, he showers her with praise. He is his life’s fancy, his ardent and passionate desire. He shouts
“Hail!” as many would to their God. He says in the third line that it is sweet to fall so that his country
may acquire fullness, and then continues on in the succeeding lines, “to die to give you life.” But his joy
does not end in the act of dying, but continues beyond the grave, where he shall sleep in his country’s
mystic land through eternity. As one dies for God, Rizal dies for country. And as one looks forward to
heaven, Rizal’s heaven – in these lines, at least – lies in being buried in the land of his ancestors.

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.

In this stanza, Rizal likens his soul to that of “a simple humble flower amidst thick grasses.” The use of
this comparison says a lot about how Rizal sees himself – timid, simple, humble, surrounded by the
unrelenting forces of society. 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’s love for nature is again depicted in these next four lines. It is interesting that he enumerates the
moon, the dawn, the wind, and a bird to pay homage to his grave, yet does not mention close friends or
specific people. Perhaps it is a simple image of his reunion with nature that he wants to bring to mind;
perhaps it is also an expression of the loneliness and isolation that he has felt and continues to feel in his
fight for freedom.

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 mention here, of a friend, is the closest he gets to company. And the mention of God in the fourth
line is the closest he gets to praying for a spiritual heaven. 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.

In these four lines he gives his motherland a list of the things he wishes her to pray for. He remembers
all of the martyrs who have suffered the same fate as he will, who have died for their country; the
mothers, wives, and children they have left behind who suffer no less for being abandoned. He also, in a
hopeful closing note, asks her to pray for herself.

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.

In this next stanza, Rizal wishes to then be “plowed by man” when his grave is no longer remembered,
and be scattered as he returns to be part of the dust that covers the land he had died for. What actually
happens in real life, though, is an uncanny parallel. On December 30, 1896, on the day of his execution,
Rizal’s remains were buried in an unmarked grave in the Paco Cemetery. Years later, however, his
remains were exhumed and on December 30, 1912, they were brought to their final resting place in the
base of the monument at Luneta.

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.

The first line in this stanza begins following the assumption that our hero’s ashes have now been spread
over the land. Rizal envisions that once he has returned to her in this manner, it will no longer matter if
the country forgets him because he will be with her, everywhere, as dust in the atmosphere, blowing in
the skies, in the wind, and still singing songs and murmuring words of devotion.

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.

Here we come to a more submissive yet hopeful tone. 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.

To close, Rizal now finally mentions specific people: parents, brothers, friends of his childhood. In other
translations, the fourth line reads, “Adios sweet-tender foreigner—my friend, my happiness,” which
historians have interpreted to allude to Josephine Bracken, the daughter of an Anglo-Saxon father and a
Chinese mother, whom many believe – although it is frequently challenged – he secretly married an
hour before his death.

TAGALOG

Paalam na, sintang lupang tinubuan,

Bayang masagana sa init ng araw,
Edeng maligaya sa ami’y pumanaw
At perlas ng dagat sa dakong Silangan.

Inihahandog ko ng ganap na tuwa

Sa iyo yaring buhay na lanta na’t aba;
Naging dakila ma’y iaalay rin nga
Kung dahil sa iyong ikatitimawa.

Ang nanga sa digmaan dumog sa paglaban

Handog din sa iyo ang kanilang buhay,
Hirap ay di pansin at di gunamgunam
Ang pagkaparool o pagtagumpay.

Bibitaya’t madlang mabangis na sakit

O pakikibakang lubhang mapanganib,
Pawang titiisin kung ito ang nais
Ng baya’t tahanang pinakaiibig.

Ako’y mamamatay ngayong minamalas

Ang kulay ng langit na nanganganinag
Ibinababalang araw ay sisikat
Sa kabila niyang mapanglaw na ulap.

Kung dugo ang iyong kinakailangan

Sa ikadidilag ng iyong pagsilang,
Dugo ko’y ibubo’t sa isa man lamang
Nang gumigiti mong sinag ay kuminang.
Ang mga nasa ko, mulang magkaisip,
Magpahanggang ngayon maganap ang bait,
Ang ikaw’y makitnag hiyas na marikit
Ng dagat Silangan na nakaliligid.

Noo mo’y maningning at sa mga mata

Mapait na luha bakas ma’y wala na,
Wala ka ng poot, wala ng balisa,
Walang kadungua’t munti mang pangamba,

Sa sandaling buhay maalab kong nais

Ang kagalingan mo’t ang paiwang sulit
Ng kaluluwa king gayak ng aalis:
Ginhawa’y kamtan mo! Anong pagkarikit!

Nang maaba’t ikaw’y mapataas lamang,

Mamatay at upang mabigyan kang buihay,
Malibing sa lupang puspos ng karika’t
Sa silong ng iyong langit ay mahimlay.

Kung sa ibang araw ikaw’y may mapansin

Nipot na bulaklak sa aba kong libing,
Sa gitna ng mga damong masisinsin,
Hagka’t ang halik mo’y itaos sa akin.

Sa samyo ng iyong pagsuyong matamis,

Mataos na taghoy ng may sintang sibsib,
Bayang tumaggap noo ko ng init,
Na natatabunan ng lupang malamig.

Bayan mong ako’y malasin ng buwan

Sa liwang niyang hilano’t malamlam;
Bayan ihatid sa aking liwayway
Ang banaang niyang dagling napaparam.

Bayaang humalik ang simoy ng hangin;

Bayaang sa huning masaya’y awitin
Ng darapong ibon sa kurus ng libing
Ang buhay payapang ikinaaaliw.

Bayaang ang araw na lubhang maningas

Pawiin ang ulan, gawing pawang ulap,
Maging panganuring sa langit umakyat,
At ang aking daing ay mapakilangkap.

Bayaang ang aking maagang pagpanw,

Itangis ng isnag lubos na nagmamahal;
Kung may umalala sa akin ng dasal,
Ako’y iyo sanang idalangin naman.

Idalangin mo rin ang di nagkapalad,

Na nangamatay na’t yaong nanganhirap
sa daming pasakit, at ang lumalangap
naming mga ina luhang masaklap.

Idalangin sampo ng bawa’t ulila

at nangapipiit na tigib ng dusa;
idalangin mo ring ikaw’y matubos na
sa pagkaaping laong binata.

Kung nababalot na ang mga libingan

Ng sapot na itim ng gabing mapanglaw,
at wala ng tanod kundi pawing patay,
huwang gambalain ang katahimikan.

Pagpitagan mo ang hiwagang lihim,

at mapapakinggan ang tinig marahil,
ng isang saltero: Ito nga’y ako ring
inaawitanka ng aking paggiliw.

Kung ang libingan kong limot na ang madla

ay wala nang kurus at bato mang tanda
sa nangangabubukid ay ipaubayang
bungkali’t isabog ang natipong lupa.
Ang mga abo ko’y bago pailanglang
mauwi sa wala na pinaggalingan,
ay makalt munag parang kapupunanng
iyong alabok sa lupang tuntungan.

Sa gayo’y walaa ng anoman sa akin,

na limutin mo ma’t aking lilibutin
ang himpapawid mo kaparanga’t hangin
at ako sa iyo’y magiging taginting.

Bango, tinig, higing, awit na masaya

liwanag aat kulay na lugod ng mata’t
uulit-ulitin sa tuwi-tuwina.

Ako’y yayao na sa bayang payapa,

na walang alipi’t punoing mapang-aba,
doo’y di nanatay ang paniniwala
at ang naghahari Diyos na dakila.

Paalam anak, magulang, kapatid,

bahagi ng puso’t unang nakaniig,
ipagpasalamat ang aking pag-alis
sa buhay na itong lagi ng ligalig.

Paalam na liyag, tanging kaulayaw,

taga ibang lupang aking katuwaan,
paaalam sa inyo, mga minamahal;
mamatay ay ganap na katahimikan