"THEY ASKED ME FOR VERSES"

I.

They asked me to play on a lyre

That long has been still and decayed,

But never a note have I played,

Nor can I the Muse re-inspire.

She chats without reason on fire

Until she has tortured my brain.

She chuckles to jeer at my pain;

She has mocked me the while I lamented.

In my soul, lonely, sad, and tormented,

Neither pleasure nor sorrow remain.

Interpretation:

The title of the poem "They asked me for verses" means thatvthe society requested Rizal to write a
poem. On the first stanza, Rizal used a lyre to symbolized his writing. The society requested for verses
even though he didn't find it easy to write poems anymore. He feels so lonely and upset that whenever
he write something it seems that it would turn a joke out of misery.

II.

There once was a time, it is true - -

A time that, alas, has departed.

When friends who were generous-hearted,

Applauded the verse I could do.

Of those happy days but a few

Obscured recollection yet stay,

As after some high holiday.

Still linger mysterious sounds,

Or, after the concert resounds.

The after tones whisper away.

Interpretation:

The first three lines of the second stanza speaks about his memories in the past that he cherish and
misses the most. While on the 4th abd 5th line, he talks much about his childhood memories - few buy
happy. But all of these will never be forgotten because it is in his system no matter what happens.

III.

For I am a plant immature,

Torn out of the Orient where

The perfumes sleed in the air

And life is a dream a allure.

Ah, memories ever endure,

My Country, of songs taught to me

By warbling birds from the tree,

The waterfall's silvery roar,

And out on then far-reaching shore,

The moan of the sounding sea.

Interpretation:

The third stanza speaks about his place of origin which is Philippines. He says here that only few in the
Philippines are like him. Rizal that time feel that he is just an outcast. However, on the last part of the
stanza, he said that he will never forget the birds, and the sea which are all part of the land where he
originated, meaning he will never forget where he came from.
IV.

While yet I was merely a child

I knew how to smile at your sun,

And inside my breast had begun,

Like vulcanic fires to burn wild,

The desire that the verses complied

By a poet's keen vigorous mind.

"Speed away, and sing to proclaim

To the futhermosts zones, of Her fame.

In earth and in heaven enshrined!"

Interpretation :

On the fourth stanza, Rizal described himself back in his childhood days. Back then, he could sense that
he had an urge for adventure and eventually will become famous or well known.

V.

I left Her, my Motherland home,

A tree stripped of leaves and turned dry.

Now gone are the carols that I

Once sang

Interpretation:

VI.
Interpretation:

Lastly, on the last stanza, Rizal was completely sad for all the memories and experiences that will never
happen again the same as before.