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“It is a marvelous to read straight through, but also to dip into. You can’t open a page without finding a precious thought to carry through the day. Above all, San Emeterio would have us learn to trust life. "life is wise," he says. "it knows what we need."

“Any writer who can help us take that lesson on board deserves to be widely read and widely cherished.” 

Henry Shukman,New Mexico.

Henry Shukman’s poetry has won the Daily Telegraph arvon prize, a Times Literary Supplement prize, the Tabla and Peterloo prizes, as well as writers awards from the Arts Council of England he reviews for the New York Times Book Review and Times Literary Supplement. His first poetry collection, In Doctor No’s Garden (Cape), is published in August 2002.
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“Congratulations for “Dear Children…” reflects your sensibilities and your love for your children. they may feel proud for that legacy, thank you for shearing it with me.”

Sila Maria Calderon, Gobernor of Puerto Rico 
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“I got impress by the depth of your thoughts and for your capacity of writing with such fine language”

Most Rev. Peter A. Rosazza, D.D.  New Haven, CT.
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“I never have seen such marvel use of the language together with so much wisdom, your book is a treasure that I will share with my children” 

Juan S. Linares, Communication Entrepreneur, Caracas, Venezuela. 
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“I have not stop reading your book.  It is a treasure that I am savoring. I consider each line, each verse.  Your book is something that cannot be rushed...the messages profound.  Thank you for touching my heart. 

I've decided the foyer of your hotel is a wonderful setting for the beginning of the journey. Thank you.”

Eileen Walker, Teacher, New York.

  A thoughtful work of great elegance and innovative form in which the author, Juan San Emeterio, combines concise prose and lucid, vibrant poetry to present life as a strong, kind mother, while ignorance is a duenna who remains beside us from the time we are in the crib and whose only interest is vanity and lust, and so is our greatest enemy. “Dear children. . . a father’s legacy” helps us to discover and value the truths which dwell quietly within us, and which we become aware of only through that divine breath that is inspiration. 

  The subjects touched upon range from the “celestial honor” that is granted with fatherhood to the importance of the Christian legacy to friendship and generosity, along with many other subjects of central importance-topics whose clear definitions, masterfully complementedby metaphors and poems, will help the reader see them, perhaps for the first time clearly, and value them even more. 

  In the poem titled “messenger” that serves as a prologue to the work, the author speaks of his determination and also provides a lucid portrait of his sensibilities and expectations. below you will find “messenger” and other sections of the work. 
 
 

DEAR CHILDREN,

THE ENTRANCE OF EACH ONE OF YOU INTO MY LIFE WAS A MIXTURE OF SURPRISE AND WONDER.
FOR IN EVERY BIRTH, LIFE BURSTS FORTH WITH THE SAME POWER AS THE ROARING OF THUNDER IN THE MOUNTAINS.
AND EVERY OPENING OF NEW EYES IS A FLASH OF LIGHTNING THAT ALLOWS US, FOR AN INSTANT, TO ADMIRE THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE ITSELF.
BECAUSE WHAT IS BEING BORN IF NOT LIFE CREATING LIFE, THAT DWELLING IN WHICH THE MOST PROFOUND MYSTERIES LIVE. . .
AND IN WHICH WE FIND THE WARM SHELTER OF THE ASSURANCE OF OUR PERPETUATION, EVEN IN OUR NOMADIC WANDERINGS.
AND HAPPY THE MAN WHO HAS A CLEAN, COMFORTABLE PLACE INSIDE THAT DWELLING WHERE HIS CHILDREN CAN GROW UP HAPPY, ...
THE MAN WHO CAN ALWAYS LIFT HIS EYES, RAISE HIS FINGER AND POINT UPWARD, TOWARD THE SKY, SHOWING THEM THE MORNING STAR . . .

 T HEY WILL ALWAYS HAVE DIRECTION ALONG THEIR PATH AND WILL NEVER LOSE IT, EVEN IN THE WORST OF STORMS.

AND WHAT GREATER SATISFACTION CAN WE ACHIEVE IN LIFE!
IT IS A JOY THAT IS SHARED BY ALL OUR FOREBEARS, WHO, OUT OF INFINITUDE ITSELF, . . . 
SING TENDER MELODIES OF SILENCE INTO OUR EAR, MELODIES, WHICH COME TO US WITH THE WARM BREEZE OF EVERY MORNING.

BUT KEEPING THAT FINGER POINTING UPWARD IS A HARD TASK, AND IT IS HARDER STILL FOR YOU, MY CHILDREN, TO KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN . . .
IT TAKES THE DETERMINATION AND CONSTANCY OF THE OCEAN’S WAVES, WHICH CRASH AGAINST THE ROCKS ON THE SHORE TO MAKE THE SAND ACROSS WHICH OTHER WAVES WILL PEACEFULLY GLIDE.

YOU, CHILDREN, BE ROCKS. . .
FOR IT IS IN THE STRENGTH OF ROCKS THAT YOU WILL FIND THE SAFE FOUNDATION ON WHICH TO BUILD YOUR HOME WHEN THE TIME COMES. . .

AND BE WAVES, FOR IT IS ONLY WITH THE CONSTANCY OF WAVES THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO CONQUER THE MOST FERTILE LAND.

YOU MUST REMAIN ALERT, FOR IT IS WHEN YOU ARE AWAKE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR THE CALL OF KNOWLEDGE AT THE DOOR OF YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS.

AND REMAIN STRONG AND HEALTHY, FOR OPENING THAT DOOR REQUIRES EFFORT AND SACRIFICE, AND IT IS ONLY THROUGH KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE HARMONY AND PEACE.

THAT IS THE MOST PRECIOUS TOOL, ALLOWING YOU TO BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL, AND THAT, IN TURN, WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRINGING IN THE HARVEST OF YOUR OWN FRUITS AND BEING BEGGARS OF OTHER MEN’S CRUMBS.
 
 

AND WHEN YOU BRING IN THE HARVEST, DO NOT TRY TO STORE UP FOR YOURSELVES MORE THAN YOU NEED. . .

BE GENEROUS WITH YOUR FELLOW BEINGS, AS NATURE WAS GENEROUS IN BESTOWING UPON YOU THOSE FRUITS.

FOR IT IS WHEN YOU HAVE GUESTS AT YOUR TABLE THAT THE MEAL TASTES BEST, AND IT IS THUS THAT YOU GUARANTEE FOR YOURSELF AND THOSE YOU LOVE A GOOD PLACE AT LIFE’S BANQUET.

FOR LIFE IS A TENDER, UNDERSTANDING  MOTHER, AND THOUGH SHE ALWAYS ENSURES THAT YOU LACK NEITHER MILK NOR HONEY AS YOU GROW, SHE IS ALSO STRICT IN HER WAYS, IN BOTH REWARD AND PUNISHMENT.

DO NOT BE ARROGANT WHEN SHE REWARDS YOU FOR SOMETHING. . .
REMEMBER THAT IN SECONDS, EVEN THE TALLEST, NOBLEST TREE CAN BE REDUCED TO ASHES BY A BOLT OF LIGHTNING FROM AN INSIGNIFICANT CLOUD.

SIMPLY ENJOY THE PRIZE IN SILENCE, AND GIVE THE BEST OF YOUR SMILES TO THOSE AROUND YOU. THIS WILL HONOR YOU AND MAKE THAT GIFT ALL THE GREATER.

BECAUSE WHEN YOU SMILE, YOU PROJECT THE BEST OF YOURSELVES AND YOU SING TO THE WINDS, WITH THE VOICE OF YOUR SOUL, THE SAME NOTES WITH WHICH THE BIRDS FILL THE WOODS IN THE SPRINGTIME. . .

AND YOU PLANT FLOWERS THAT WILL PERFUME THE DEEPEST RECESSES OF YOUR DWELLING-PLACE FOREVER
 
 

AND WHEN OUR MOTHER LIFE SCOLDS YOU AND YOU CANNOT SEE CLEARLY FOR THE TEARS IN YOUR EYES. . .

DRY THEM WITH THE HANDKERCHIEF OF ACCEPTANCE AND TAKE WITH THE RIGHT HAND OF YOUR INTELLIGENCE THE LESSON WHICH, LIKE A DIVINE GIFT, SHE HAS GRANTED YOU.

AND TREASURE IT, AND BOW TO HER IN A SIGN OF GRATITUDE, BECAUSE BOTH TEARS AND LAUGHTER TEACH YOU, AS TIME PASSES, THE NAKEDNESS OF YOUR WEAKNESSES AND THE POTENTIAL OF YOUR SELF, WHICH YOU DO NOT YET KNOW.
 
 

FOR IN OUR PILGRIMAGE WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY INVISIBLE SHADOWS, WHICH OUT OF IGNORANCE WE SOMETIMES GREATLY FEAR. . .
BUT AS THE LIGHT OF YOUR OWN CREATION DRAWS BACK ITS DARK VEIL, YOU WILL BE SURPRISED AT THE BEAUTY OF THEIR COLORS AND THE TENDERNESS OF THEIR GLANCES.
IT IS THAT LIGHT THAT YOU MUST SLOWLY AND PATIENTLY CREATE. IT IS YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE AND YOUR GREATEST TREASURE, WITH WHICH YOU WILL CONQUER THE NIGHT OF FEAR AND OPEN INFINITE ROADS THAT YOU WILL JOURNEY IN HAPPINESS.

BUT CREATING THE LIGHT OF YOUR OWN EXISTENCE IS A SOLEMN DUTY WHICH YOU MUST FULFILL EACH AND EVERY DAY. . .
AS THE COUNTRYFOLK PATIENTLY COLLECT THE GRAINS OF THEIR HARVEST, SO YOU MUST WORK, AND EVERY DAY YOU MUST SET YOURSELF THE TASK OF REACHING UP TO A STAR IN THE SKY. . .
IF YOU PURSUE THIS WORK WITH PASSION AND DEVOTION, YOU WILL ATTAIN A UNIVERSE OF LIGHT AND WILL DISSIPATE FOREVER THE DARK SHADOWS OF FEAR, AND YOU YOURSELVES WILL BE A MORNING STAR BY WHICH OTHER TRAVELERS WILL FIND THEIR WAY.

AND IT IS RIGHT TO ACT-THOUGH ALWAYS WITHIN THE REALM OF TRUTH, WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE HEIGHT YOU NEED TO REACH THE STARS.

BUT ALWAYS WALK WITH NAKED FEET UPON THE EARTH, FOR THE ROCKS AND STONES THAT YOU STUMBLE ON WILL SERVE AS SUPPORT TO YOU IN YOUR UNDERTAKING. . .
AND THOUGH SOMETIMES THEY WILL BLOODY YOUR FEET AND THE PAIN WILL MAKE YOU TREMBLE, KNOW THAT THAT IS THE SEAL WHICH OUR MOTHER LIFE PUTS ON EVERY TRUE TRIUMPH, SO THAT EACH ONE MAY BE MADE ETERNAL.
 
 

 D O NOT SCORN THE FILTHIEST BEGGAR, OR THE MOST VICIOUS WRONGDOER. HAVE COMPASSION ON THEM AND WITH THE RIGHT HAND OF YOUR INTELLIGENCE SEIZE THE TEACHING THAT THE MERE SIGHT OF THEM GIVES YOU.
THEY MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE LOVING HAND WHOSE FINGER POINTED UP TOWARD THE HEAVENS, OR MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE PASSION AND DEVOTION TO CONQUER THE STARS EVERY DAY. . .
OR THE HAND OF THEIR INTELLIGENCE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN STEADY ENOUGH, OR SKILLED ENOUGH, TO SEIZE THE LESSONS GIVEN THEM. . . OR THEY MAY HAVE SHOD THEIR FEET IN COMFORTABLE SHOES SO THAT THEIR FEET WOULD NOT BE BLOODIED ON THE ROAD. . .

IT IS OUR MOTHER LIFE WITH HER MYSTERIOUS WAYS, EDUCATING THEM AND EDUCATING YOU AS WELL.
 
 

AND DO NOT SCORN THE MATERIAL WORLD WITH FUTILE ARGUMENTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE HEARD SOMEWHERE FROM THOSE WHO ARE WEAK OF HEART, THOSE WHO, PLYING WITH MERE GIFTS AND WORDS OF PRAISE, WOULD ATTEMPT TO WIN A GOOD PLACE AT THE BANQUET OF TODAY AND OF TOMORROW. . .

YOU MUST DEAL WITH THIS WORLD. IT IS THE CRUCIBLE IN WHICH YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS GROWS AND IS PURIFIED, SO THAT IT MAY BECOME ONE WITH YOUR YET-UNKNOWN SELF IN A HAPPY FUTURE.

BUT DO NOT TAKE THE WORLD AS A FALSE IDOL, BECAUSE BLIND POSSESSION MEANS BEING IN TURN POSSESSED.

OPEN YOUR EYES AND GIVE DUE IMPORTANCE TO WHAT YOU POSSESS. REMEMBER THAT YOU MUST DISTINGUISH BETWEEN TRUE NEEDS AND FALSE NEEDS. . .
LISTEN TO THE INNER VOICES OF THE BEST OF YOUR FIBER. THEIR SONG CONTINUES AT ALL HOURS-YOU MUST SIMPLY GIVE THEM HEED.

KNOW THAT ALONGSIDE THOSE VOICES THAT YOU CARRY INSIDE YOU THERE ARE OTHERS, IN INFINITE NUMBERS, WHICH JOIN THEM TO FORM THE SACRED CHORUS OF THE UNIVERSE.

BE ALERT, STRIVE TO HEAR THEM, AND YOU WILL SEE THAT THEY VIBRATE FROM WITHIN THE MOST COMMON PROVERB AND IN THE MOST TREASURED BOOK. . .

YOU WILL HEAR THEM FROM THE LIPS OF THE BEGGAR AND FROM THE LOFTIEST ORATOR, SEE THEM IN THE TINIEST ANT AND IN THE MAJESTY OF THE FIRMAMENT. . .

DANCE TO THE RHYTHM OF THAT SONG, CREATING YOUR OWN MUSIC-THAT IS PART OF THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS.
 
 

YOU SHOULD MAKE OF THAT AN IDEAL OF LIFE. AVOID THE FUTILITY OF CONSTANT DISTRACTION. . .
IT IS LIKE WINE, OVERLY INTOXICATING, AND IT CAUSES SOME PERSONS TO TURN ASIDE FROM THE ROAD THEY ARE ON. . .

YET DO NOT TAKE LIFE WITH TOO MUCH SERIOUSNESS, FOR HUMOR GIVES LIFE TO LIFE AND IN IT, YOU WILL FIND A COOL OASIS WHERE YOU CAN REST FROM YOUR DAY’S JOURNEYING.

EVERY MORNING, AS YOU OPEN YOUR EYES, GREET WITH A SMILE THE NEW OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE GROWING THAT OUR MOTHER LIFE HAS GIVEN YOU. . .
PRICK UP YOUR SENSES, LISTEN KEENLY, AND YOU WILL HEAR THE NOTES OF A NEW SYMPHONY, ARISING OUT OF THE VERY CENTER OF THE EARTH. MARVEL AT THE PERFECTION OF ITS HARMONY.

IT IS THAT SACRED MUSIC IN CONSTANT RENEWAL, CREATED FOR US EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OUR DAYS TO DELIGHT US AND INSPIRE US. . .

AVOID BEING DISCORDANT NOTES IN THAT SYMPHONY, BECAUSE IT WILL BE YOUR OWN EARS THAT SUFFER FROM THE  CACOPHONY.

  Besides his business interests, San Emeterio is a writer, and he defines himself as a “humanist . . . because I believe in the potential that we are all born with, and that enables us to achieve self-knowledge and consecration with the supreme creator. that is our greatest challenge, our greatest responsibility, and the only real and valid goal in life.” 

  As San Emeterio puts it, “the word is the supreme instrument, the conquering sword, the magical door that allows us entry into the realm of knowledge. . . i ask the grace of the lord in order to serve my fellow men and women through the word, and if i am able to do that, it will be my greatest joy.” 

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Dear Children...
A Father’s Legacy

Copyright, Juan San Emeterio, 2002

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Translation by Andrew Hurley
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