A (sort of) tribute...
I'm really not the type of person who's very active in political issues whatsoever, but I think the death of former President Cory Aquino is a big loss for all of us. Don't get me wrong though when I say that I actually felt relief (and a bit of happiness) after hearing the news of her death because I can just imagine the suffering and hardship that she had endured those days in the hospital. My paternal grandfather also died of colon cancer and I've seen how much he's changed physically. I may have been too young (7 years old) to really remember what he had undergone that time, but I've seen pictures of our family during that time, and he was so thin and bed ridden. He's the type of person who rarely complains about things, but I've seen (and remember) him deteriorate, physically, that is. I also remember my tita feeding him or making him drink from a cup with a straw. I don't know, that's the last memory I had of him so I can just imagine the hardship and pain that Cory's family had undergone in those days when they see their mom go through everything. On the other hand, I'm also quite thankful that I was still innocent and young that time or else I would have felt the pain too. And like the news of Cory's death, I just woke up one day, and my mom delivered the news of my lolo's death. Prior to that, my mom and dad were saying that my lolo said that he had seen Jesus in a garden talking to him. Sounds kinda creepy and frightening, right? But after hearing Kris Aquino's story of her mom seeing her dad Ninoy, and reaching for her hand and having a peaceful aura, made me a believe that my lolo's story about seeing Jesus was probably true. Anyway, here's my sort of tribute to the first woman leader in Asia. I'm posting the lyrics of the song "I Have Fallen In Love with the Same Woman Three Times, which is actually a poem written by Ninoy for Cory while he was in jail during martial law.
I Have Fallen In Love With the Same Woman Three Times-song version
by Ninoy Aquino
(Sung by Jose Mari Chan, revived by Christian Bautista)
I have fallen in love
With the same woman three times;
In a day spanning 19 years
Of tearful joys and joyful tears.
I loved her first when she was young,
enchanting and vibrant, eternally new.
She was brilliant, fragrant,
and cool as the morning dew.
I fell in love with her the second time;
When first she bore her child and mine
always by my side, the source of my strength,
helping to turn the tide.
But there were candles to burn
the world was my concern;
while our home was her domain,
and the people were mine
while the children were hers to maintain;
So it was in those eighteen years and a day,
till I was detained; forced in prison to stay.
Suddenly she’s our sole support;
source of comfort,
our wellspring of Hope,
on her shoulders felt the burden of Life.
I fell in love again,
with the same woman the third time.
Looming from the battle,
her courage will never fade.
Amidst the hardships she has remained,
undaunted and unafraid.
She is calm and composed,
she is God’s lovely maid.
It's such a sweet and beautiful song,right? I actually haven't heard of this song until Christian Bautista was interviewed about it, and it was a day before Cory's death. How timely.... But personally, I like Jose Mari Chan's version better. Maybe because his voice is more soothing to the ear? haha (sorry to Christian Bautista fans) Ah, but as I researched for the lyrics of the song, I also found a copy of the full poem! Read it under the cut (Uy, gumamit nako ng lj cut. Nahiya naman ako, mashado kasing mahaba e...hehe)
I have fallen in love
With the same woman three times
In a day spanning nineteen years
Of tearful joys and joyful tears
I loved her first when she was young
Enchanting, brilliant, middle-strung
Vibrant, fragrant, eternally new
Cool, invigorating as the morning dew.
Desperate, she shared, quieted my despairs
Hopeful, she fanned the fires of my hopes
Lavished me with days of bliss and peace,
Endless, perpetual days of fond memories.
She is my hope; I do not wish to realize
Hence my hope; forever green, eternal prize
My life transcending life, my ultimate quest
Dream of my life for whom Ill spare no rest.
I fell in love again
With the same woman the second time
When first she bore her child and mine
The first fruit of our union and our love.
The pains and anguish of motherhood she braved
Loved her children, their love she deservedly craved
Times were she hung on the very brink of death,
Unflinchingly fulfilling her mission to procreate.
In politics I plunged, she was always by my side,
Steadfast, uncomplaining, helping to turn the tide,
Amidst hardship, her rare courage would not relent
She was my secret weapon, the source of my strength.
The world was my concern, our home her domain,
The people mine, the children hers to maintain,
So it was in those eighteen years and a day
Till I was detained, forced in prison to stay.
Suddenly she became our sole support
Wellspring of hope, source of comfort
On her shoulders fell the burden of life
She emerged our captain in the sea of strife.
I fell in love again
With the same woman the third time
Looming from the battle, undaunted, unafraid,
Calm composed, she is God's lovely maid.
It has been a year of many disappointments
Endless dark nights, long days of sad lament,
Of grave doubts, frustrations, bitter desolations,
Of privations, untold indignities, humiliations.
Dreams became nightmares; hopes, despair.
Rally to freedoms call, no one will dare.
Future is obscured, life has lost its meaning,
The tunnel is long, were only at the beginning.
Leaders I admired, whose advice I sought
Became fallen idols, their souls were bought,
Their conscience they bartered for soft convenience,
Due to despicable cowardice, theyve lost their patience.
Leaders became dealers, begging for part of the spoils,
Forgetting the value, the essence of the hottest toil,
Paralyzed be fear, they joined the amoral dictator,
Defending, waving the bloody flag of the new oppressor.
The pillars of society became the props of tyranny,
Be realistic, they urged, if not for safety, for money.
It is useless to resist, the tyrant is too strong,
Yet aware, with their help the tyranny will prolong.
Mother Pilipinas weeps, her noble sons are gone,
Her land of the morning, is now of the setting sun,
Back to her dungeon in chains shes been returned;
For all her sacrifices, this is what she earned.
The night is cold and dark, there are no stars,
Our prisons are full, our souls wrinkled with scars,
Afflicted, persecuted, struck down but not crushed,
How soon will this blight be erased by Allahs brush?
My only escape is to cling to the woman of my dreams
Who gave me a life full of love, a love full of life,
She is my urge to live, my sole motivation to survive,
She taught me not only to dream, but to make dreams alive.
Fight on! She says: Let not the guiltless ghost depart.
Your pains, our people know are caused by a thousand darts,
But be assuaged, remember the Filipino, his story, his past,
Soon, very soon, the tyrant will choke in his greedy power lust!
I got this from ampedasia.com/forums.
As I've mentioned earlier, her death is a big loss for all of us, but I think let's just all be happy that her suffering is over and that she was able to touch and change our lives in her own way. Her close relationship to God and Mother Mary is one of the things that made her stand out and influential to all of us. I'm not even surprised that there are a lot of people who are lining up to see and bid her goodbye for the last time. She may not have been the best president of the Philippines, but I think she did her best to pick up the "broken pieces" of the Philippines and tried to fix and propel our country towards development and improvement after those chaotic martial law years. All the tributes thanking her and saying that she was the symbol of our freedom and democracy is actually true because when you think about it, she was the first president after martial law, which laid down the foundation for our constitution and the present structure of our government. Former President Cory Aquino, may you rest in peace, and thank you.
I Have Fallen In Love With the Same Woman Three Times-song version
by Ninoy Aquino
(Sung by Jose Mari Chan, revived by Christian Bautista)
I have fallen in love
With the same woman three times;
In a day spanning 19 years
Of tearful joys and joyful tears.
I loved her first when she was young,
enchanting and vibrant, eternally new.
She was brilliant, fragrant,
and cool as the morning dew.
I fell in love with her the second time;
When first she bore her child and mine
always by my side, the source of my strength,
helping to turn the tide.
But there were candles to burn
the world was my concern;
while our home was her domain,
and the people were mine
while the children were hers to maintain;
So it was in those eighteen years and a day,
till I was detained; forced in prison to stay.
Suddenly she’s our sole support;
source of comfort,
our wellspring of Hope,
on her shoulders felt the burden of Life.
I fell in love again,
with the same woman the third time.
Looming from the battle,
her courage will never fade.
Amidst the hardships she has remained,
undaunted and unafraid.
She is calm and composed,
she is God’s lovely maid.
It's such a sweet and beautiful song,right? I actually haven't heard of this song until Christian Bautista was interviewed about it, and it was a day before Cory's death. How timely.... But personally, I like Jose Mari Chan's version better. Maybe because his voice is more soothing to the ear? haha (sorry to Christian Bautista fans) Ah, but as I researched for the lyrics of the song, I also found a copy of the full poem! Read it under the cut (Uy, gumamit nako ng lj cut. Nahiya naman ako, mashado kasing mahaba e...hehe)
I have fallen in love
With the same woman three times
In a day spanning nineteen years
Of tearful joys and joyful tears
I loved her first when she was young
Enchanting, brilliant, middle-strung
Vibrant, fragrant, eternally new
Cool, invigorating as the morning dew.
Desperate, she shared, quieted my despairs
Hopeful, she fanned the fires of my hopes
Lavished me with days of bliss and peace,
Endless, perpetual days of fond memories.
She is my hope; I do not wish to realize
Hence my hope; forever green, eternal prize
My life transcending life, my ultimate quest
Dream of my life for whom Ill spare no rest.
I fell in love again
With the same woman the second time
When first she bore her child and mine
The first fruit of our union and our love.
The pains and anguish of motherhood she braved
Loved her children, their love she deservedly craved
Times were she hung on the very brink of death,
Unflinchingly fulfilling her mission to procreate.
In politics I plunged, she was always by my side,
Steadfast, uncomplaining, helping to turn the tide,
Amidst hardship, her rare courage would not relent
She was my secret weapon, the source of my strength.
The world was my concern, our home her domain,
The people mine, the children hers to maintain,
So it was in those eighteen years and a day
Till I was detained, forced in prison to stay.
Suddenly she became our sole support
Wellspring of hope, source of comfort
On her shoulders fell the burden of life
She emerged our captain in the sea of strife.
I fell in love again
With the same woman the third time
Looming from the battle, undaunted, unafraid,
Calm composed, she is God's lovely maid.
It has been a year of many disappointments
Endless dark nights, long days of sad lament,
Of grave doubts, frustrations, bitter desolations,
Of privations, untold indignities, humiliations.
Dreams became nightmares; hopes, despair.
Rally to freedoms call, no one will dare.
Future is obscured, life has lost its meaning,
The tunnel is long, were only at the beginning.
Leaders I admired, whose advice I sought
Became fallen idols, their souls were bought,
Their conscience they bartered for soft convenience,
Due to despicable cowardice, theyve lost their patience.
Leaders became dealers, begging for part of the spoils,
Forgetting the value, the essence of the hottest toil,
Paralyzed be fear, they joined the amoral dictator,
Defending, waving the bloody flag of the new oppressor.
The pillars of society became the props of tyranny,
Be realistic, they urged, if not for safety, for money.
It is useless to resist, the tyrant is too strong,
Yet aware, with their help the tyranny will prolong.
Mother Pilipinas weeps, her noble sons are gone,
Her land of the morning, is now of the setting sun,
Back to her dungeon in chains shes been returned;
For all her sacrifices, this is what she earned.
The night is cold and dark, there are no stars,
Our prisons are full, our souls wrinkled with scars,
Afflicted, persecuted, struck down but not crushed,
How soon will this blight be erased by Allahs brush?
My only escape is to cling to the woman of my dreams
Who gave me a life full of love, a love full of life,
She is my urge to live, my sole motivation to survive,
She taught me not only to dream, but to make dreams alive.
Fight on! She says: Let not the guiltless ghost depart.
Your pains, our people know are caused by a thousand darts,
But be assuaged, remember the Filipino, his story, his past,
Soon, very soon, the tyrant will choke in his greedy power lust!
I got this from ampedasia.com/forums.
As I've mentioned earlier, her death is a big loss for all of us, but I think let's just all be happy that her suffering is over and that she was able to touch and change our lives in her own way. Her close relationship to God and Mother Mary is one of the things that made her stand out and influential to all of us. I'm not even surprised that there are a lot of people who are lining up to see and bid her goodbye for the last time. She may not have been the best president of the Philippines, but I think she did her best to pick up the "broken pieces" of the Philippines and tried to fix and propel our country towards development and improvement after those chaotic martial law years. All the tributes thanking her and saying that she was the symbol of our freedom and democracy is actually true because when you think about it, she was the first president after martial law, which laid down the foundation for our constitution and the present structure of our government. Former President Cory Aquino, may you rest in peace, and thank you.