I Have Fallen In Love With The Same Woman Three Times

Poet: former Sen. Benigno "Ninoy Aquino Jr.
Trivia: written for his wife former Pres. Corazon Aquino; turned into a song by Jose Mari Chan

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I Have Fallen in Love with the Same Woman Three Times


I have fallen in love
With the same woman three times;
In a day spanning 19 years
Of tearful joys and joyful tears.

I loved her first when she was young,
enchanting and vibrant, eternally new.
She was brilliant, fragrant,
and cool as the morning dew.

I fell in love with her the second time;
When first she bore her child and mine
always by my side, the source of my strength,
helping to turn the tide.

But there were candles to burn
the world was my concern;
while our home was her domain,
and the people were mine
while the children were hers to maintain;

So it was in those eighteen years and a day,
till I was detained; forced in prison to stay.

Suddenly she's our sole support;
source of comfort,
our wellspring of Hope,
on her shoulders felt the burden of Life.

I fell in love again,
with the same woman the third time.
Looming from the battle,
her courage will never fade.

Amidst the hardships she has remained,
undaunted and unafraid.
She is calm and composed,
she is God's lovely maid.

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Rest in peace our beloved former President Corazon Aquino... You shall remain always in our hearts. Your legacy will never be forgotten.

Remember

Poet: Christina Rossetti

Source: "Goblin Market and Other Poems"

Year Published: 1862

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Remember

Remember me when I am gone away.

Gone far away into the silent land;

When you can no more hold me by the hand,

Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.

Remember me when no more day by day

You tell me of our future that you plann'd:

Only remember me; you understand

It will be late to counsel then or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while

And afterwards remember, do not grieve:

For if the darkness and corruption leave

A vestige of the thoughts that I once had,

Better by far you should forget and smile

Than that you should remember and be sad.

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This poem is about a woman who is dying and is requesting her lover to remember her. In the first five lines, you would notice the coming separation of the couple. The persona here requests that she be remembered when time comes that she no longer exists here on earth. When she can longer be held.

In the following lines, the persona further stresses that their time together is really getting shorter. Then there comes the tension.

There are lines where you would notice that the persona realizes that the lover will somehow forget her. And if that happens she is also certain that the lover will be sad. So at the end, she tells the lover that its better for him to smile and forget her than remember her and be sad.

This poem not only tackles parting but it also reflects the poet's way of handling her own dilemmas in life. We see here how her Christian devotion affects her decisions. Truly, this poem deserves all the fame it has till now.

The Lady or The Tiger?

Type: Prose

Genre: Fiction

Author: Frank Stockton

Year Published: 1882

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Summary

In a faraway land, there was a semi-barbaric king who has unusual means of administering justice to offenders in his kingdom. You will choose from two doors and whatever decision you'll make will surely change your life. One day, he found out that his daughter, the princess, is in love with a commoner. Because of this, he had the lover arrested and thrown into prison. He set up a date for the trial in the arena. Before the trial, the lover consulted the princess on which door to choose. The princess knows which door contains the tiger and which door contains the lady that will be married to the lover. The question is, which door did the princess chose for the lover?

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I'm sure many have read the story already but still it is amusing to go back and read it again from time to time. It makes you think and analyze what door will the lover choose. What kind of ending will happen.

I'd like to think that this story is the mother of the stories with choose-your-own-ending out there. This kind of stories gives the readers an opportunity to let their imagination soar and transport them to different time and place.

So, if you're the princess, which door will you give the lover?

To read the story, download here.