My First Inspiration

By: Dr. Jose P. Rizal

Why falls so rich a spray

of fragrance from the bowers
of the balmy flowers
upon this festive day?

Why from woods and vales

do we hear sweet measures ringing
that seem to be the singing
of a choir of nightingales?

Why in the grass below

do birds start at the wind's noises,
unleashing their honeyed voices
as they hop from bough to bough?

Why should the spring that glows

its crystalline murmur be tuning
to the zephyr's mellow crooning
as among the flowers it flows?

Why seems to me more endearing,

more fair than on other days,
the dawn's enchanting face
among red clouds appearing? 

The reason, dear mother, is

they feast your day of bloom:
the rose with its perfume,
the bird with its harmonies.

And the spring that rings with laughter

upon this joyful day
with its murmur seems to say:
"Live happily ever after!"

And from that spring in the grove

now turn to hear the first note
 that from my lute I emote
to the impulse of my love.

The word "inspiration" has two levels of meaning: the conventional one we use
every day and the root meaning rarely used in modern language but always present as
a connotation of the other: (1) Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of
feeling or activity, and (2) The act of breathing in; the inhalation of air into the lungs.

This poem speaks to (2) in the first stanza: the breathing in of sweet aromas
on what is declared to be a "festive day." The second stanza moves to the sweet,
musical sound of birds singing in the woods and vales on such a day. The third stanza,
of course, begins to merge the two images in a subtle way: the birds "start" to sing (or
are startled into singing) by the sound of the wind blowing. The wind would supply them
breath for singing, but it also seems to "inspire" their singing, as in (1) above; that is, it
stimulates them to a high level of activity. In the fourth stanza, the spring of water tunes
its murmur likewise to the sound of the breezes (zephyrs) as it flows along among the
flowers.

Hence, in this first half of the poem we have music of birds and brook
"inspired" by the wind; that is, the very air we breathe. And also we breathe the
fragrance of the flowers (among which the brook flows), for it is borne on the wind. The
imagery of these first four stanzas is, thus, neatly tied together, giving us a sense of the
festivity of a beautiful spring day in nature. The poem could be complete at this point; it
would be a sweet little nature poem, a song.

But the poem moves in a different direction now. Why does this day seem so
much brighter, more beautiful than others? Why is morning brighter today? The next two
stanzas answer this question. The poem, it turns out, is addressed to the speaker's
mother, and it is her day of "blooming" (birthday, probably). The perfume of the flowers,
the songs of the birds, and the sound of the bubbling brook all celebrate her day, they
"feast" in her honor. They wish her all the best: "Live happily ever after."

Now the poem becomes more fragile, more understated. For one's "dear
mother" is also one's inspiration--there at one's first breath in life, there to move one
toward creative acts or ideas. But to say that in so many words would be trite and
sentimental. So in the last stanza the speaker acts out the feeling. Joining the music of
the brook (and of the birds and the winds), the speaker will play upon a lute. The mother
is asked to turn from Nature to Human art, from the birds and the brook to the sound of
the lute expressing emotion wordlessly. And what is the "inspiration" that moves the
lutist to play? Why, "the impulse of my love." The speaker's love for the mother. The
mother's love reflected in her child.

This is the first sound of music, which is inspired by the mother/child love; but,
indeed, the whole poem--the music of its verses--has already been inspired also in the
same way.

Submitted by: Jefferson S. Pabatang