From One Pilgrim to Another

Santiago B. Villafania, a great Filipino-Pangasinense Poet wrote the poem entitled:

“Sonnet To A Pilgrim Soul” The poem was published in the Philippine Panorama on

September 26,1993. This poem has been translated into more than 20 languages. ‘Sonet’ was

the Old Occitan phrase of Sonnet which means “little song”. However, the English term

'pilgrim' originally comes from the Latin word “peregrinus” (per, through + ager, field,

country, land), which means a foreigner, a stranger, someone on a journey, or a temporary

resident. Overall we could say that from these definitions, the poem entails a message from

the persona to a certain traveler.

Critical Evaluation

The poem is composed of 3 quatrains (stanzas with 4 lines each) and a couplet (a

stanza composed of 2 lines). The poem is spoken in second person and follows the rhyme

scheme: abab cdcd efef gg. It is in iambic pentameter, consisting of 10 syllables per line.

Punctuation wise, there is an apparent absence of punctuation marks in the poem. Though the

structure of the sentences in the poem can be inferred, the lack of punctuation marks would

still affect its readability, especially to young and inexperienced readers.

The Poem was written in with some words that are not familiar to some of the readers,

and the absence of punctuation marks affects the readability of the text however, it has a

strong appeal based on the choice of words that the author has used. Written in 2nd Person

(Which consists of YOU & YOUR) aside from that, it is in the form of an iambic pentameter.

It consists of 10 syllables per line. Composing of 3 quatrains (stanzas with 4 lines each) and a

couplet (a stanza composed of 2 lines).

its explicit exposition of sight appealing words in the 1st and 2nd stanza; (1) …the sun gilds the

sky, (2) …deep darkness makes a noble retreat, (5) …morning spreads her warm golden

wings, and (6) …the sapphire sky is wordlessly deep. These lines vividly describe to the

readers the transition of the day from dawn till noon. Line (3) O hear the music in the air

fleeting, mainly arouses the readers’ hearing, as it describes the soft ‘whooshing’ sound of a

morning breeze. Though it can also be considered as tactile as a cool breeze of air is often

associated with feelings of cold and shivering. These descriptions build the setting and

atmosphere of the poem, taking the readers in an illusion of sunrise and awing clear blue sky.

Mental images are found in the poem wherein the use of Imagery spiced up the whole

content leaving its readers a fantasy ride to the poem itself especially in the 1st and 2nd stanza;

(1) the sun gilds the sky, (2) deep darkness makes a noble retreat, (5) morning spreads her

warm golden wings, and (6) the sapphire sky is wordlessly deep. These lines emphasized the

switch of the day from dawn till noon. Aside from sense of sight, sense of hearing was also

found in the line (3) O hear the music in the air fleeting, (4) for you can never recapture the

beat. We can say that the readers here are hearing a ‘whoosh’ sound like the air as well as the

‘lab dub’ like the heart beat in their imagination. All of these form part of the atmosphere and

setting of the poem, enlightening its readers a view of sunrise having vivid blue sky.

Reading the poem aloud brings out a melodic sense brought about by the presence of

meter, rhymes and other sound devices. Alliteration is the most prolific sound device in the
piece as it can be found all throughout the poem: (1) …sun gilds the sky…, (2) …deep

darkness…, (5) …warm golden wings, (6) …sapphire sky…, (8) …seldom see in your

dreamful sleep, (9) …feel forlorn…, (10) …world will…, (11) …will come when their eyes

will grow dim, and (13) …decay into dust. There are also some Assonance present in the

poem that contains the /e/ sound as observed in lines (2) O hear the music in the air fleeting

and (3) …never recapture the beat, and a Consonance with the apparent /m/ sound in line

(11) A time will come when their eyes will grow dim.

Alliteration which was defined as the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the

beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. In connection, Alliteration was found in

the following lines of the poem: (1) sun gilds the sky (2) deep darkness (5) warm golden

wings, (6) sapphire sky 8) seldom see in your dreamful sleep, (9) feel forlorn (10) world will

(11) will come when their eyes will grow dim, and (13) decay into dust. The repetition of the

sound of a vowel (Assonance) or consonant (Consonance) diphthong in non-rhyming stressed

syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible. In connection,

Consonance /m/ is found in the line (11) A time will come when their eyes will grow dim.

However, Assonance /e/ was found in the lines (2) O hear the music in the air fleeting and (3)

never recapture the beat.

the beginning of the 1st and 2nd stanzas, depicting how the sun illuminates the sky at dawn and

the night’s darkness moving away. The author also employed Anaphora as seen at the

beginning of both 1st and 2nd stanza, starting with the word “when”, and is then repeated at the

last line of the poem. Metonymy is present in Line 14, with ‘empty shell’ acting as a

substitute to the word ‘corpse’ or a ‘dead body’.

Based from the Poem, it contains literary devices such as Personification, in which

there is a human like actions in life-less objects. Visioning that as the night’s darkness passes

away, the sky at dawn was illuminated by the sun. Metonymy is found in Line (14) with

‘empty shell’ performing as an auxiliary to the term ‘corpse’ or a ‘dead body’. Anaphora was

also depicted beginning with the word “when” that was repeated in the beginning and at the

last of the poem.

Summary and Per stanza Discussion

The 1st stanza depicts the Persona describing what it would seem as sunrise and asking

the Pilgrim to listen intently to the “music in the air”, for the Pilgrim cannot listen to it again
once its past them. Looking at the symbolisms in this stanza, the Pilgrim may symbolically

refer to someone who is lost, someone who has lost his/her way in their journey, which could

also refer to life as a journey. The Persona of the poem urges the Pilgrim to listen to the

“music in the air” at sunrise, which could refer to a morning breeze – a gentle and cool wind

that we feel early in the morning. The Persona’s depictions of dawn/morning may symbolize

hope and a new beginning, stemming from the literal definition of the word “morning” which

is the start of a day. Taking these things into consideration, the 1st stanza might be telling us

of about the Pilgrim as someone who could be in the process of self-discovery and is met

with overwhelming odds resulting to them losing their way in life. The Persona of the poem

enters at this juncture to tell the Pilgrim to not waver and that there is hope. The Pilgrim is

urged to listen to the morning breeze, which we could associate to the term “winds of

change” - forces that have the power to change things —used generally to mean change is

going to happen (Merriam-Webster). The Persona tries to tell the Pilgrim to have a growth

mindset, and that “now” is the right time to act and change before it’s too late. As they say

“nasa huli ang pagsisisi.”

In the 2nd stanza, the Persona of the poem asks the Pilgrim to watch and appreciate the

morning sky as the sun fully rises and shine upon the horizon. It is interesting to note that the

author referred to the morning as “her”, possibly pertaining to a mother whose love is warm

and tender. A fitting interpretation for this idea would be that “her” could pertain to Mother

Nature as a whole. The term “Mother Nature” is not limited to nature only as it is recognized

as the personification of the Earth itself, otherwise known to its other alias as Mother Earth.

Mother Nature by definition is nature personified as a woman considered as the source and

guiding force of creation (Merriam-Webster), thus the term includes all forces of nature that

guides creation including the sun, which is a major player in sustaining life in the planet. The

2nd stanza teaches the Pilgrim to be appreciative of the beauty of the things around them, in
particular of their environment. To take a moment of their time to take a break and awe the

wonders of nature brings would bring a sense of relief that could free the Pilgrim, even for

just a short time, from the shackles of depression and loneliness.

The 3rd stanza takes matters into an interesting turn. As observed in Lines 9 and 10,

the Persona first tries to comfort the Pilgrim when he/she, presumably, feels lonely and is

anxious that the world only looks at their weaknesses, as supported by Line 10. The Persona

then resumes by saying that everyone will inevitably grow old and die along with them – the

Persona and the Pilgrim. Line 12 takes the readers into such an interesting turn of events as it

is revealed that the Persona of the poem is similar with the Pilgrim; both are lost souls in the

journey of life. It is at this point that the readers feel and understand the impact of the

Persona’s words to the Pilgrim, that those words are words of kinship, words of advice from

one pilgrim to another.

The 4th and last stanza ends the poem with the Persona stating that everyone’s journey

in life will certainly end and all of them will just be part of the past. As discussed in the

author’s use of metonymy, “An empty shell” describes the state of the Persona and the

Pilgrim. This could be interpreted as the Persona’s way to tell the readers that they are “dead”

on the inside, seemingly devoid of the will to live. But, in introspect of the Persona, from the

way he/she talks and gives advice to the pilgrim, the 4th stanza could also be interpreted, on a

positive note, as the Persona’s way of telling the Pilgrim that since everything has a definite

end, why not shrug off all the worries and anxieties in world and just enjoy life as it is?

This positive interpretation lines up with the poem’s narrative: the 1st stanza depicts the

Persona urging the Pilgrim to ride the winds of change, the 2nd stanza tells the Pilgrim to be
appreciative of things around them and take joy from the simplicities of life, and the 3rd

stanza reveals the Persona as a companion akin to the Pilgrim. This tells us that even though

the Persona shares the Pilgrim’s mishap, the Persona is someone who is still hopeful and

shows hints of someone who continues to struggle in the rigorous path of life. The Persona

have experienced what the Pilgrim is currently experiencing, and is lending a hand to their

brethren in hopes instill valuable lessons which would help the Pilgrim to move on.

The 1st stanza states how the sun veils the entire sky with its shining rays while the moon is

bidding its goodbye on the opposite side. This phenomenon is really overwhelming and

beautiful. A lot of people patiently wait to witness the sunrise. It makes people feel the hope

in their life. However, this phenomenon is easy to vanished, thus, you must enjoy the moment

because you can never go back and recapture the moment.

The 1st Stanza depicts the situation of the pilgrim (which symbolically refer to life as a

journey) as described by persona in the poem that as the sun was saying hello and the moon

was saying its goodbye, it means that hope arises in the midst of the dark situations of life.

The said phenomenon was viewed beautiful as the Pilgrim was bound to his self-discovery

while listening to the morning breeze despite of the odds that he was experiencing. In this

way, the persona wants to make the Pilgrim understand that there is no permanent thing such
as the word change, time flies even though we do not notice it right away, so we must “carpe

diem” to make the most of the present time and give little thought to the future.

The 2nd stanza focuses on the importance of enjoying the moment when you can still

see them. The darkness cannot light up the world, so if the rays of the sun began to shine.

Look at the surroundings and enjoy the moment because those things cannot be seen when

you are asleep. Reality is always better than our dreams when asleep.

The 2nd stanza teaches the Pilgrim to be grateful of the splendor of the things in our own

nature even for a moment just to pacify the things that entangles the Pilgrim’s mind to such

odds, depression or confusions. Especially, depicting that a single light can brighten up the

darkness, that there will always be hope just like the sun. In addition, the author mentioned to

the morning as “her”, perhaps relating to a mother whose love is warm and caring. In the

same way, enjoying and appreciating the things in reality rather in imagination really matters.

The third stanza implies that everyone have the same fate at the end. Let us not be

devastated in our journey here on earth as a pilgrim. If the society will laugh at your state and

will judge your status, just shrugged it off. Regardless of what we become, everyone will

have the same fate when they close their eyes and leave this world.

The 3rd stanza shows a certain truth that we all have the same fate at the end. The Pilgrim was

comforted by the persona of its loneliness and anxiety he is experiencing especially when the

society looks inferior at his weakness as seen in lines 9 and 10. The fate that we once live and

after it we soon die, like a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow, a wave
tossed in the oceans, a vapor in the wind. Line 12 leaves a mind-blowing idea to the readers

regarding such turn of events as it is exposed that the Pilgrim and Persona of the poem shares

the same experience, both of them have similar journey of life as lost souls.

The last stanza emphasizes that we will all leave this earth just like an empty shell, no

ranks, no wealth and no status. We will all turn into dust with nothing but us, when we will

no longer see the sunlight in the morning and our time in the light will forever be in the past

as memories.

The last stanza contains an undeniable truth that readers should be aware of that The Persona

wants to tell the Pilgrim that it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this judgment: as

said in Hebrews 9:27. That no matter how rich, famous or powerful you are here on earth you

will also die and it would not carry its merit on the grave through the use of metonymy of

‘Empty shell’. In the same way, at the other side of the coin in the positive side, the persona

wants to tell the pilgrim that it’s a fact that you will soon die, but while you are living, seize

every moment, enjoy and endure hardships and shrug-off every fear and worries. Finally, this

gives us the whole picture of the persona who wants to share his valuable lessons he got in

life in helping the Pilgrim or even its readers to stay positive and move on in life.

Allen Aaron C. Bustillo