My school days are long behind me, but memories remain. 

There was one subject that I remember clearly, although not necessarily fondly - the Dun Karm Psaila poems. Putting it mildly, it was not my favourite subject. I think there was shared consensus amongst my classmates on this. For admittedly, at that young age, little is a teenager concerned with existential problems and love of country. Teenagers are complex human beings. Teachers who are reading this article would nod in approval.  

It was only later in life that I learned to appreciate Dun Karm's poetry.

Today, we shall be commemorating and paying respect to Dun Karm Psaila by laying flowers in front of his monument in Floriana. He died on October 13, 1961. That's 63 years ago - but our national poet is immortal and more than six decades later, his voice is stronger than ever. He contributed greatly to the richness of Maltese literature.

Really and truly, few men, and women, accomplish what the Haz Zebbug priest, who died poor but attained greatness, did. He is arguably the nation's most talked-about figure in Maltese literature. He is rightly acclaimed as a giant of Maltese literature.

Dun Karm, the priest, deeply religious and conservative in his beliefs, led a quiet life. Solitude was his long-life companion. I recall one of his poems dedicated to his yellow canary bird. It presents a deep meditation on life but also explains the priest's gentle soul and his state of solitude.  He was an intellectual and a thinker who shied away from attention.

Dun Karm, the poet, was a staunch advocate for Malta's freedom and independence from British rule and a firm believer of his mother tongue and its beauty. He was never one to shy away from expressing political views. He did so through his writings. But he did so respectfully, with a profound sense of tolerance. Dun Karm professed respect towards British rule but insisted that Malta must stand on its own feet, free and unencumbered from foreign rule or interference. He was a prominent promoter of national dignity.

The late Professor Oliver Friggieri, a literary giant in his own right, described Dun Karm as 'Malta's most eminent voice of Maltese statehood'. He's right in many ways. Friggieri wrote numerous scholarly articles, published worldwide, on the national poet.

Dun Karm always wore his influences on his sleeve - love of country and its language, fear of God and his almost reverential love for nature. He vividly depicted the social struggles of his time and he never stopped writing until death made him lay down his pen for good. 

He had the extraordinary ability of analysing the complexity of human nature and his insightful exploration of social issues and expressing it through his impressive mastery of the language. This solidified his status as a literary giant.

He used his literary genius to communicate big questions that were relevant then as they are now: the preservation of the Maltese language; care for the environment and unity amongst our people.

Dun Karm was Maltese first and foremost and passionately in love with his country. He died without seeing Malta attain political independence and freedom but through his writings he sowed the seeds that inspired statesmen, notably Dom Mintoff and George Borg Olivier to lead their people on a path that led to an Independent, Free and Sovereign Malta.

There is another aspect about our national poet that is worth mentioning - his decision to write almost exclusively in the Maltese language (save for his early years of writing, when he wrote in Italian, until he decided to use the Maltese language as the medium of his creativity) and how it deprived him from international fame.

He could, had he wanted to, write in English and Italian languages that he mastered with great ease. Had he done so, he would have been published worldwide. But greatness was never the Haz Zebbug priest's ambition. He made the conscious choice of writing in his mother tongue.

His loyalty to his country led him to be recognized as its national poet but denied him international recognition. I am sure, however, that he never craved international recognition. He was happy doing what he loved doing best, expressing his inner thoughts in the language that he was passionately in love with.

Perhaps the most significant thing about Dun Karm Psaila is the fact that his works, specifically his prayer, 'Lil Din l-Art Helwa' which was officially designated as the national anthem, in 1941, and re-affirmed in the Independence Constitution in 1964, brings together the people of Malta regardless of their background, beliefs and political allegiances.

Dun Karm is, in this respect, a unifying factor. It is this sense of unity, his ability to advocate for a free and sovereign country, with its own language, at a time when our nation was torn apart, that makes Dun Karm Psaila great and immortal.

Back in my school days, I would have struggled to explain why Dun Karm Psaila remains relevant after his death.

But today, as I linger on these few words that define Dun Karm's quest for unity, 'Seddaq il-Ghaqda fil-Maltin u s-Sliem', I know that our national poet remains valid, 63 years after his death, and 63 years from now because unity, among the Maltese, for which Dun Karm strove so hard, is just as relevant today as it is tomorrow.

Because united we stand and divided, we fall. We must never forget that. Our national poet wanted that. He dedicated his life to his country. His hope was that we could come together. We cannot let him down. Unity, surely, we all need that now, more than ever. That is the most appropriate tribute we can give - the eternal monument we can build - to that most exceptional of men, Dun Karm Psaila.