1. The poem is about the battle in Bataan in order to gain freedom.

2. The events during the Japanese occupation that could have inspired the author to write this
poem are the battle of the Americans and the Japanese for our land and the colonization of the
Philippines by the Japanese.
3. The parts of the poem that reflect the Filipino experience during the Japanese occupation are
“Bataan has fallen.
With heads bloody but unbowed, we yielded to the enemy.”,
“Deadly planes scoured the skies,
Submarines nosed the seas— without help,
Without hope for help, they dug into the ground.
The forest rolled downward. All eyes skyward,
They saw the enemy cluster like stars,
Dropping flames numerous as clustering stars.
And they waited for words. But no words came.”and,
“Not afraid to die, they hugged the tight holes
Until the enemy crept upon them
Who, holding their ground for a brief moment,
Gave the whole world another hope to hold.
As long as their hearts moved, the guns loaded,
And the fighting moved through the jungles
And on to the scarred beaches, until there
Were no more guns to load.”
4. The author used English to write the poem, despite it being prohibited at the time, as a sign of
disobedience to the Japanese. The author used English to rebel against the latter. It can also
show his disapproval to the colonizers at the time.
5. I honestly think that it would not have benefited if the poem was written in Tagalog or any of
our nation's languages because if it was, then the Japanese would just think that the author has
yielded to them by following their rules. They would not find the poem threatening or alarming
to their ruling. I believe that the poem being written in English has made the poem's message
more impactful and more inspiring to the Filipinos.

This passage showed the way the Japanese abused our ancestors by threatening them and
controlling them through fear.