1st Literary Piece

Silent Trails
By M. de Gracia Concepcion

Silent are the trails of Benguet hills,

When the mist veils the sun --
Even when the wind stirs the ferns
And the bamboo brakes sings
Their echoes murmurs,
And the laden Benguet women pass,
Beating, their pakkongs
In cadenced monotones--
Even so，
These trails are lonely…
And deep are the ravines
And higher still the skies.

1. You have to imagine this scene. Where is Benguet? What image of it is conveyed by the poetic
representation? State it in your own words, as it were, re-living the scene.
The poem is set in Benguet, a province in the Cordillera Administrative Region, known for its
marvelous views. It showcases the simple life in Benguet, serene and isolated, yet beautiful. With the
continuous reading of the poem, only one scene comes into my mind, the women trailing down the quiet
trails of Benguet where the only thing that can be heard is the echoes of their murmurs and the beating of
the pakkong. The line, When the mist veils the sun, for me, suggests tranquility and loneliness of the silent
trails of Benguet, while the mention of wind stirring the ferns and bamboo brakes singing suggests a sense of
natural harmony which eases the quiet trails.

2. Why, or how, do the sounds as poetically depicted - the sound of wind and bamboo brakes, the sound of the
pakkong (the bamboo buzzer in Ibaloy)- heighten or intensify one's impression of the silence?
The use of sound in the poem such as the sound of the wind, bamboo brakes, and the sound of
pakkong heighten or intensify one’s impression of silence as the use of these sounds contrasts the silence of
the trails of Benguet. These sounds showcase the steadiness of the surroundings, which highlights how
tranquil the surroundings of Benguet are. The contrast between the silence and the sounds that can be
heard in the trails of Benguet further highlights the solitude and quietness one can feel when trailing down
the trails of Benguet which intensifies the impression of silence in the poem.

3. What significance do you see in the sort of transformation of sensation/ perception that occurs from "Silent"
to "lonely”? That significance relates to a basic fact about the poem's observer's state of consciousness.
The sensation from silent to lonely suggests the shift in the point of view of the observer from bare
silence, absence of noise, to solitude and isolation of the Benguet trails. Whereas the silence simply suggests
the absence of noise in the trail however when one continuously trails the silent trails of Benguet the feeling
of silence shifts into loneliness implying emptiness and isolation. This shift indicates the awareness of the
observer about the solitary character of the trails of Benguet and the profound isolation that enveloped
these trails.

4. "The mist veils the sun," says the poem's observer. How may you relate its meaningfulness to the concluding
observation: “And deep are the ravines, /And higher still the skies"?

(a) First, be a "literalist of the imagination." Consider the poetic representation as simply an objective
description -someone's impression of a landscape in Benguet.
In literal meaning, the mist veils the sun, indicates the mist or fog often covers the mountainous
façade of Benguet. This also indicates the atmospheric conditions that Benguet usually has. The concluding
 observation “And deep are the ravines, /And higher still the skies" showcases the topographical scenery of
Benguet. It describes the deepness and richness of the Benguet terrain and the towering skies above.
Relating these lines suggests the grandeur and picturesque topography Benguet has to offer. The mist by
hindering the sun creates an atmosphere of mystery, while the mention of the ravines and high skies
highlight the features of the Benguet terrain.

(b) You may also try a metaphorical/symbolic reading of all those poetic images of the landscape (mist, ravines;
“laden Benguet women beating their pakkong"). Here one's reading may only be clever and ingenious, and
yet also plausible insofar as it relates to what the poetic text appears to convey (it is, in short, conjectural).

In a metaphorical or symbolic reading, the mist veiling the sun suggests obscurity, which hints a
sense of mystery or hidden truths the landscape of Benguet hides. The deep ravines symbolize the
challenges and obstacles that can be encountered as one odyssey to life, while the higher skies indicate a
sense of aspiration or determination. The laden Benguet women beating their pakkongs symbolize one’s
resilience and perseverance in the face of challenges and obstacles of life, which add layers of meaning to
the portrayal of the human experience in the natural world.