mi ultimo adios.?

Question

can anyone give me the english translation of mi ultimo adios by NICK JOAQUIN??

Answer 1

"Mi último adiós" (Spanish for "My Last Farewell") is a poem written by Jose Rizal on the eve of his execution. There are at least 35 English translations known and published (in print) of this poem as of December 2005. The most popular is that of American Charles Derbyshire (dated 1911) and is inscribed on bronze. Also on bronze at the Rizal Park in Manila but less popular is the translation by Filipino National Artist and much-admired novelist and journalist Nick Joaquin (1944).


My Last Farewell
Farewell, beloved Country, treasured region of the sun,
Pearl of the sea of the Orient, our vanquished Eden!
To you I gladly surrender this melancholy life;
And were it brighter, fresher, gaudier,
Even then I’d give it to you, to you alone would then I give.
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.
I die when I see the sky unfurls its colors
And at last after a cloak of darkness announces the day;
If you need scarlet to tint your dawn,
Paint with my blood, pour it as the moment comes,
And may it be gilded by a reflection of the heaven’s new-born light.
My dreams, even as a child,
My dreams, when a young man already full of life,
Were to see you one day, jewel of the eastern seas,
Dry those dark eyes, that forehead high,
Without frown, without wrinkle, without stains of shame.
My lifelong dream, my deep burning desire,
This soul that will soon depart to cry out: Salud!
To your health! Oh how beautiful to fall to give you flight,
To die to give you life, to rest under your sky,
And in your enchanted land forever sleep.
If upon my grave one day you may behold,
Amidst the dense grass, a simple lowly flower,
Place it upon your lips, and my soul you’ll kiss,
And on my brow may I feel, under the cold tomb,
The tenderness of your touch, the warmth of your breath.
Let the moon see me in a soft and tranquil light,
Let the dawn send its fleeting radiance,
Let the wind moan with its gentle murmur,
And should a bird descend and rest on my cross,
Let it sing its canticle of peace.
Let the burning sun evaporate the rain,
And with the struggle behind, towards the sky may they turn pure;
Let a friend mourn my early demise,
And in the serene afternoon, when someone prays for me,
O Country, pray that God will also grant me rest!
Pray for all the unfortunate ones who died,
For all who suffered torment unequaled,
For poor mothers who in grief and bitterness cry,
For orphans and widows, for prisoners in torture,
And for yourself pray that your final redemption to see.
And when the burial ground is shrouded in dark night,
And there alone, only the departed remain in vigil,
Disturb not their rest, nor the mystery,
And should you hear chords from a zither or harp,
'Tis I, O land beloved, 'tis I, to you I sing !
And when my grave, then by all forgotten,
has not a cross nor stone to mark its place,
Let men plow and with a spade disperse it,
And before my ashes return to nothing,
May they be the dust that carpets your fields.
Then nothing matters, cast me in oblivion.
Your air, your space, your valleys I will cross.
I will be vibrant and clear music to your ears,
Aroma, light, colors, murmur, moan, and song,
Ever echoing the essence of my faith.
My idolized country, sorrow of my sorrows,
Adored Filipinas, hear my last good-bye.
There I leave you all, my parents, my beloved.
I go where there are no slaves, hangmen nor oppressors,
Where faith does not kill, where the one who reigns is God.
Goodbye, dear parents, brother and sisters, fragments of my soul,
Childhood friends in the home now gone,
Give thanks that I rest from this wearisome day;
Goodbye, sweet stranger, my friend, my joy;
Farewell, loved ones. To die is to rest.