SONIA

By Francisco Icasiano
The sun on the hill forgot to die,
And the lilies revived, and the
dragonfly
Came back to dream on the river.
 Who never ate his bread in sorrow,
Who never spent the midnight hours -
Weeping and waiting for the morrow,
He knows you not, Ye heavenly Powers
Pain is beautiful…

 when one can rise from its depressing power

 Grief of a father for a daughter he lost
 “Pleasure is for the beautiful body but pain for the beautiful soul”
 “If a man with any artistic pretensions allows sorrow to destroy him, he is a
mere artisan incapable of producing anything of worth; for the first thing an
artist must recreate, before true art can be realized, is his own soul”
A Father’s Farewell

When the last word is written and my hand drops limp

and lifeless by my side, I hope to hear the gentle patter
of little feet and feel the tender touch of little hands
around my neck. Sonia...
Activity

 Choose one line from the essay that you liked best and try to think of a
situation which you can relate it to.
 Find a partner and discuss your experiences.
 Share your discussion with the class.