The title of this post is the title of one of my favorite poems when I was in high school.

I
remember writing a short essay around the theme of the poem for an essay writing
contest. What I cannot remember now is how I fared at the contest hehehe. Anyway, I
found the poem again among my notes as I was going over the content of my baul last
night.
Man of Earth was written by Amador T. Daguio. He was only 20 when he wrote this
one. Here is the poem:

Pliant is the bamboo;

I am a man of earth;
They say that from the bamboo
We had our first birth.

Am I of the body,
Or of the green leaf?
Do I have to whisper
My every sin and grief?

If the wind passes by,

Must I stoop and try
To measure fully
My flexibility?

I might have been the bamboo,

But I will be a man.
Bend me then, O Lord,
Bend me if you can.

Could Daguio have been thinking of today’s time when he wrote the poem? This is what
I like about the element of timelessness in poetry. This poem was written in 1932 but it
reflects the plight of Filipinos today. It tells us how we, Filipinos, should face the
seemingly endless challenges in today’s world.

Truly, the Filipinos should be as pliant as the bamboo. As the wind of economic crisis,
tragedies, and political crisis blow, we should humbly stoop—we should bend, adjust, try
to cope, try to survive. At the same time, we should stand on our own ground—firm,
bold, brave, and daring. Patuloy sana tayong makibaka sa buhay kahit minsan
mahirap gawin.