Sacrifice

From the poisonous hemlock,

That ended the wisest man,
For he stated that he knows nothing,
Choices was his everything.

From the fixed judgement of Pilates,

That ended the Son of Man,
That offered kindness to everyone,
His death was never meaningless,

To the bravery shown by the Grouper,

When resistance was not a barter,
For he refused to waver,
Despite his own was his betrayer.

To the man who proved that the pen is mightier than the sword,
His words and poems speaks as if its Urd,
For he inspired countless and more,
Freedom and equality shall restore!
Explanation
1) The first stanza refers to Socrates, the wisest man because he came over to the fact that
he known nothing. After his trial, he was scheduled to be executed for corrupting the minds
of the youth. He spent his last days with his contemporaries and even receiving a proposal
from them to escape the death sentence. Instead of cowering with fear, he drank the
poisonous hemlock poetically and figuratively stating that he has his own will and that he is
free, meaning even in the face of death, he have choices and will make his own. Socrates' is
known as the father of west's philosophy and looked up by several significant intellectuals.
Socrates' story rings the same with our national hero for he also fought for free speech and
rational way of doing things. Rizal had a choice as well to use inculcate his people to cause
violence and mutiny, however, he chose what he ought to believe and that was through
peaceful reforms and propaganda.
2) The Second stanza refers to Jesus Christ, he is referred as the Son of Man in the biblical
literature, known for his pacifistic and kindness philosophy. His death symbolizes the death
of an innocent, an unfair verdict of the judge who ought to bring justice. His death was
never in vain for he inspired and sparked billions and stays relevant till this day. It strongly
relates to the idea of Rizal's death that was a very meaningful time in our history, for we all
know an innocent was unjustly executed.
3) The Third stanza refers to Lapu-Lapu. Grouper is a fish that translates to our language
into "Lapu-Lapu". When the colonialists came, other datus and rajas were immediately
trusting, disregarding their own religions and traditions, and accepting of the foreigners
imperialist monarch. Lapu-Lapu refused the Spanish and went into a battle that ended with
a first win against foreign invaders. Eventually, as if its like a tradition at this point, the first
Hero of the nation was killed by his own people. Lapu-Lapu, with his conviction against
foreign invaders, sacrificed himself with integrity and bravery.
4) The Fourth stanza refers to our National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. Rizal had a unique way of
instilling nationalism for he used his education and literary competence. Urd came from
Nordic myths, one of the three things that foretells fate. With his writing he is teaching us
till this day. Librealism and democracy through reformation not by violence is his main
goal.

The order in which that stanzas are aligned is chronogically ordered, portraying the
symbolism of recognizable acts of great men leading to Rizal.