How could we ever forget Dr. Rolando Carbonell’s Beyond Forgetting?
The poem’s lyrics will constantly reverberate in our hearts and mind, especially when we remember the special people who have shown us the power of true love.
This poem, penned by Carbonell in the early 60s, is a famous love poem that most of us—the baby boomers—will never forget because it has touched the very core of our beings, thereby becoming a part of our lives.
Here’s his poem in its entirety:
Beyond Forgetting
For a moment I thought I could forget you.
For a moment I thought I could still the restlessness in my heart.
I though the past could no longer haunt me – nor hurt me.
How wrong I was!
For the past, no matter how distant, is as much a part of me as life itself.
And you are part of that life. You are so much a part of me — of my dreams, my early hopes, my youth and my ambitions – that in all tasks I can’t help remembering you.
Many little delights and things remind me of you. Yes, I came. And would my pride mock my real feelings? Would the love song, the sweet and lovely smile on your face, be lost among the deepening shadows?
I have wanted to be alone. I thought I could make myself forget you In silence and in song… And yet I remembered.
For who could forget the memory of the once lovely, the once beautiful, the once happy world such as ours?
I came because the song that I kept through the years is waiting to be sung. I cannot sing it without you. The song when sung alone will lose the essence of its tune, because you and I had been one.
I have wanted this misery to end, because it is part of my restlessness. Can’t you understand? Can’t you divine the depth and tenderness of my feelings towards you?
Yes, can’t you see how I suffer in this even darkness without you?
You went away because you mistook my silence for indifference. But silence, my dear, is the language of my heart.
How could I essay the intensity of my love when silence speaks a more eloquent tone? But perhaps, you didn’t understand…
Remember, I came, because the gnawing loneliness is there and will be lost until the music is sung, until the poem is heard, until the silence is understood…until you come to me again.
For you alone can blend music and memory into one consuming ecstasy. You alone…
Who could forget this lyrical poem? For those who are always young-at-heart and ever romantic like some of us, simply reading or reciting this poem will always bring back some of our sweet love memories and unforgettable past.
Its lyrics will remind us of that special one we loved so much, the one we had given us all to show that our love was true and unselfish.
Well, as one song says, love is a many-splendour thing, but how could we explain our deep longing for our lost love, unrequited love, and undying love we had brought to life?
For most of us who have experienced the warmth of our First Love and True Love, Carbonell’s poem will always come to mind despite the passing of time.
From time to time, we’ll find ourselves silently reciting this poem, remembering the romantic escapades we had made, the places we had visited, the loving cares, chats, and strolls at the park we had had.
Oh, many unforgettable memories that bring immense joy simply by remembering them.
Despite the turbulence of the 60s, the rallies, demonstrations, Vietnam Wars, and protest graduations, we had our way of distancing” ourselves from these activities. We would only focus on our loved ones while strolling the stretch of the Luneta Park and soothing our spirits by silently reciting Carbonell’s poem.
On reading and reflecting on this poem–Beyond Forgetting–we would feel a sudden pinch in our heart, and our mind wanders to our imaginary world where everything and whatever we think about is possible.
Yes, Virginia, true love is beyond forgetting!
