Bonsai

by: Editha Tiempo

As I read the poetry, I remember how I understand the meaning of being a child.

Even how small we are what color we have and from what race we are valuable in

Gods sight. The story is about love and how people imbue certain objects with love of a

person and those object become the sun blood of love. However it is not the love of the

objects themselves that the poetry is referencing. It is rather about how the love for the

person or place can be best touched through an object that evokes them. The objects

are easy to keep, and they become the keeper of memory and the love that is held for

the person. In the sense they are physical manifestation of love because they can be

held and touched and they remain constant in form. So even if the love itself fades, the

object remains and it is evidence of the love that was experienced.

 The Virgin

by: Kerima Polotan Tuvera

The story is about the woman who is still a virgin at the age of thirty four. She

was too busy taking care of her mother and minding her studies when she was teenager

so she did not have time for love. A carpenter who applied for a job in the company she

was working in, reminded her of her teenage fantasies when they were left alone on a

street. I liked how the story showed Miss Mejares background to help the plot. The

author also depicted how some people act around different kinds of people. Generally it

was a good Filipino short story. The Virgin gives us the area under discussion like

virginity, most specifically female virginity. Female virginity is a cherished and respected

value of Filipino Male culture. Yes it is appropriate and fitting to the story by presenting

its central character as "victim" rather than heroine of this value system, the text

challenges it. Reflecting on her virginal state, Miss Mijares does so "with a combination

of indignity and resentment and lastly guiltiness.

 The Tree

by: G. Burce Bunao

The boy thought the tree as a toy and playing when he was young but found it

more meaningful and useful later on. As if not a toy but a branches to be used for bed

and any other household furniture. Also feeds us through its fruits and shelter us

through its branches. It also contributes to the environment by providing oxygen,

improving quality climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soils, and

supporting wildlife. They came from many colors and forms out the common among

them are their meaning and use to me. In this poem, it is clearly seen the evolution of

the subject physically and mentally. Hes growth and development from an innocent boy

who turned to a mature man. Each line in the poem clearly stated it. When he was a

boy, he thought that a tree was a beautiful creation that gave him joy and bunch of fruit.

It was the sign of his childhood. And when he grew older, he still thought that the tree

was a beautiful thing that gives him happiness and supports his needs. It was not only

just a branch but more than that. As he grew older, his point of view about the tree

changed. He used it in making a bed or even a fence. Also, to he used the tree to

support his family. From an innocent boy who sees the tree as a playmate and a

source of his favorite fruit, now that he grew older, he sees it as his source of income. In

that sense, his evolution as a man paved the way to the evolution of the benefits of the

tree to his life.

 Landscape II

by: Carlos A. Angeles

The rays of sunlight give us day it gives color and gives life to the dying land. The

clouds in up there give us cool air and satisfy the living in the land and water. And the

beautiful flying creatures give sounds to our ears. I cant imagine without beautiful

creatures. The poem tells about the emotions that the landscape evokes in the speaker.

The diction used to describe the landscape is violent and sad which means the speaker

could be feeling sad and violent because of someone who is no longer around. That

someone could be a lover whom the speaker used to share before the beauty of the

landscape. The reader should be linguists of imagination to understand the poem. Go

back to figures of speech and symbolism. Then you would know that the poet is sad and

hurting for a loved-one has passed away. The symbols are expresses death. All the

everyday this that happen are seen. Differently since this loss are reminders of the

person who is gone.

 Magnificence

by: Estrella Alfon

In this wide world, we met different people with different attitudes. To give our

trust fully to someone we did not know that much is stupid. We can say that the children

were booth innocent. They trusted Vicente; they thought that he is a good man for he

shows good things to them. As a mother I admit I will never do the same what had their

mother do to Vicente. If I were their mother Id rather choose to kill him. I cant accept

that my child is a victim of harassment. What had their mother did is unusual. She has

matured enough to think what to do in such instances for it is the goods of her children.

The story is a good example of how we handle problems especially when it comes to

our children.
 The Woman Who Had Two Navels

by: Nick Joaquin

Woman with two navels can be read as a personal story of how a young woman

reconciles the contradictions of her past forges her own identity. In turn, this personal

journey is a reflection of how the Philippines also reconciles its own turbulent history

(Spanish, then suddenly American, followed by a brief interlude of Japanese) and

begins to form a unique identity of its own. Both the personal and national narratives are

preoccupied with the concerns of the past. Connie Escobar is one troubled young lady.

She hates her origins - she despises her parents. Thus as a child she ran away from

home out of shame from her father's past and his present a purported corrupt politician.

She is even more explicit in her condemnation of her mother. Connie's marriage, her

first attempt as an adult to escape from her past, ends in failure. Marriage commonly is

seen as a new beginning, a separation from one's family to begin a separate life.

However in Connie's case her marriage is just a continuation of the corrupt past. Macho,

her haciendero husband, turns out to be the former lover of her mother. This repulsion

from her past takes on in her mind a physical manifestation; her two navels.

Significantly, this is further proof of her warped origins. Where normal people have only

one navel, and hence one mother, Connie sees herself as a confused product of at

least two different sources.