STEM 103

October 2, 2020

"Tarpo"
by Genaro R. Gojo Cruz

Salamat sa matatalinong politiko, nagkaroon

Stanza 1 ng bagong bihis itong aming abang bárong-bárong.

Nagsabit sa poste ng koryente ang makukulay

Stanza 2 na tarpuling sinungkit namin ilang madaling-araw.

Buti na lang, kinasihan kami ng mahabaging langit,

Stanza 3 Repetition
di kami nahuli nang aming putulin ang alambre.

Madali naming naibaba ang makikinang na pangalan,

Stanza 4 maging ang kanilang mga pangako, ngiti at dangal.

Ang kanilang katawan ay ginawa naming dingding Near Rhyme

Stanza 5
upang maging panangga sa matinding lamig o hangin.

Pantabing ng bintana ang kanilang mga mata

Stanza 6 nang di kami mabasa sa ampiyás kung tag-ulan.

Sakto sa pinto ang kanilang mga kamay at braso

Stanza 7 nang di na kami malooban sa gabing himbing ang tulog.

Naging pantapal ng bubong ang kanilang pangalan End Rhyme

Stanza 8
nang mabawasan ang tulo sa aming munting higaan.

Stanza 9 Panapin sa salubsob ng tulugan ang mga pangako

upang mailapat ang aming mga pagod na likod.

Sa aming hapag ang asam nilang kapangyarihan

Stanza 10
nang walang isa mang butil ng kanin ang masayang.

Salamat sa matatalinong politiko, nagkaroon

Stanza 11
ng bagong bihis itong aming abang bárong-bárong.

Sa buo naming katawan at bahay, tagos ang kapanatagan

Stanza 12 End Rhyme
na tumagal sana hanggang sa susunod na halalan.

SUBJECT

1
 • Who wrote it?
- The poem “Tarpo” is written by Genaro R. Gojo Cruz.
• Who is the persona? (Speaker/Narrator)
- A simple citizen is the narrator of the poem.
• Is it first (I), second (You), or third (He/She) person?
- The narrator of the poem is a first (I) person.
• Where is it set?
- The poem is set in an election season.
• Who/what features in the poem?
- The citizen and the politician are the features in this poem.
THEME
• What are the recurring ideas/topics?
- The themes of the poem “Tarpo” are Politics, Power, and Poverty.
TONE
• How would you describe the language’s mood?
- The tone or the mood of the narrator or the poem itself is ironic,
solemn, and restless.
IMAGERY
• What Literary Devices are used?
- The Literary Devices used in the poem are Assonance, Repetition,
Allegory, Irony, Imagery, Synecdoche, and Symbolism.
• Refer to the colors above to Identify the Literary Devices in the poem.
• Allegory is included in the Literary Devices used in the poem because as you
read the poem, the narrator says he/she used parts of the body of the
politician as part of their house but there is a meaning behind that. He/she
used the tarpaulin used in the election of the politicians which supposed to
be the help and support of them not only election promises.

FORM

2
 • How many stanzas are there?
- There are 12 stanzas in the poem.
• How many lines are there in every stanza?
- There are 2 lines in every stanza of this poem. Overall, the poem has 24
lines from the beginning to the end.
• Is there any rhyme? Is it consistent?
- From what I analyze, the poem has only a few rhymes. Let say three (3)
only. The ones I identified are End Rhymes and Near Rhymes only. I am
sure there are rhymes within the lines. The rhymes of the poem are
obviously not consistent.
- I put the rhyme words in Bold to identify easily.
• Does this type of poem have a specific name?
- Yes, this poem is free verse type of poetic form. lacks a consistent rhyme
scheme, metrical pattern, or musical form.
FEELING
• What might be the poet’s intention?
- I think the poet write this piece to make people be aware of what really
is the truth about our government and politics.
• Who was it targeted at?
- This poem “Tarpo” targeted mostly the citizens and the politicians.
• Was it meant for a public audience?
- Yes, especially this topic is timely and really important to discuss.
• Is it from the poet’s perspective or someone else’s?
- This poem is from a citizen’s perspective. As I what I understand, this
citizen is from a lower-class level of society which needs the help from
the electing politician.
• How does it make you feel?
- In my first reading of this poem, I barely understand what it really
means because the poem is composed of really deep Tagalogs. But as I
read it again and again, there is a deeper meaning behind it. Since I am
still a student and not capable of voting in the election, our higher
citizens must think wisely before voting for someone to be in a position.
We must analyze carefully who will we vote like their backgrounds, past

3
achievements or issues, or if he/she is really trustworthy and deserving
to be in that position because whatever the government is, reflects its
citizens. To have a healthy and happy citizen, we must first tackle the
ones in the higher positions or else many of our citizens will go through
something hard just like what is indicated in the poem. And for the
politicians, they must not break their election promises and be
consistent on making our country good. They must put effort not only in
their tarpaulins and in the election but also in implementing laws and
helping our poor citizens to have a peaceful community.