Mi Ultimo Adios

• Mi Ultimo Adios


  My Last Farewell
• First stanza

  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 you for your welfare at most.
• Second Stanza

  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 osmartyrdom's site,

  It is the same if asked by home and Country.
• Third Stanza

  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!
• Fourth Stanza


  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.
• Sixth Stanza

  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!
• Seventh Stanza


  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.
• Eight Stanza

  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.
• Ninth Stanza

  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.
• Tenth Stanza


  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 you own redemption.
• How big was the paper used to write "Mi Ultimo Adios"?

  13 by 15 centimeters (1/4 crosswise)
• How did the title "Mi Ultimo Adios" came to be?


  After Rizals death Mariano Ponce, his friend and fellow reformist, titled it "Mi último pensamiento" (transl. "My Last Thought") in the copies he distributed, but this did not catch on.
• How did "Mi Ultimo Adios" came to be?

  
  

  After the visitation of Rizals family (He was visited by his mother, Teodora Alonzo; sisters Lucia, Josefa, Trinidád, Maria and Narcisa; and two nephews.) Rizal told Trinidád in English that there was something in the small alcohol stove, which was intended to provide cover for the transportation of the text.
• How long did it take for his family to receive the lamp?


  It was not delivered to Rizal's family until after the execution as it was required to light the cell.
• How long was the Poem?

  14 five-line stanzas
• When was "Mi Ultimo Adios" printed and distributed?

   In 1897, Mariano Ponce in Hong Kong had the poem printed with the title "Mí último pensamiento".