Sonnet [Our days in swift succession bid us on]
Our days in swift succession bid us on
To these unchartered, desolate domains,
Where over deserts strewn with the remains
Of unreturning caravans long gone,
We follow trails that, winding, go astray
Into the dull horizon. We know not
What ending’s there, what fortunes be our lot,
When tired and spent we reach our destined way.
We only know that with each onward move,
We leave behind us friends we cherished most,
Old friends, who, unsustained, their path have lost,
Warm hearts that, hoping, beat for those they love.
We know that time relentless bids us on
To stranger lands, only to dead men known.
From Manila: A Collection of Verse (Imp. Paredes, Inc., 1926) by Luis Dato. This poem is in the public domain.
Luis G. Dato
Poet, educator, journalist, and politician Luis G. Dato, one of the first Filipino authors to write and publish in English, was born in Baao, Camarines Sur, Philippines, on July 4, 1906. He was the third of five children born to Eugenio Dato y Espalana and Barbara Guevara y Imperial. His brother, Rodolfo, was also an academic, having served as dean of the University of Nueva Caceres in Naga City, Bicol Region, Philippines, in addition to editing the anthology Filipino Poetry, initially published in 1924.