Every time I ride the MRT or the LRT here in Manila, I take some time to read and appreciate the “Berso sa Metro” series of posters. Sponsored by the Instituto Cervantes of Manila, the posters feature Spanish poems displayed alongside its Filipino translation. To compliment the mood of the poem, the backdrop features works of art or collages of beautiful scenery.

I love these posters for their artistic and poetic value. Aside from promoting the Spanish language, it also helps promote reading which is always a good thing, especially at the MRT where there are a lot of passengers, reading is definitely a good way to kill time while commuting.

Here is one poem that I especially like. I just copied the tagalog translation on my cellphone. I Googled for the original Spanish version and found a copy here. I hope you like it!

Si el hombre pudiera decir

Tú justificas mi existencia:
Si no te conozco, no he vivido;
Si muero sin conocerte, no muero, porque no he vivido

Binigyan mo ng halaga ang aking pag-iral;
Kung di kita nakilala, di sana ako nabuhay;
Kung ako’y mamamatay nang di kita nakilala,
Hindi ako mamamatay, dahil hindi ako nabuhay.

- Luis Cerruda (Sevilla, 1902 – México, 1963)