Letter To Pedro, U.S.

Citizen, Also Called Pete by Rene Estella Amper Pete, old friend; there isn't really much change in our hometown since you left. This morning I couldn't find anymore the grave of Simeona, the cat we buried at the foot of Miguel's mango tree, when we were in grade four, after she was hit by a truck while crossing the street. The bulldozer has messed it up while making the feeder road into the mountains to reach the hearts of the farmers. The farmers come down every Sunday to sell their agony and their sweat for a few pesos, lose in the cockpit or get drunk on the way home. A steel bridge named after the congressman's wife now spans the gray river where Tasyo, the old goat, had split the skin of our young lizards to make us a man many years ago. The long blue hills where we used to shoot birds with slingshot or spend the summer afternoons we loved so much doing nothing in the tall grass have been bought by the mayor's son. Now there's a barbed wire fence about them; the birds have gone away. The mayor owns a big sugar plantation, three new cars, and a mansion with the gate overhung with sampaguita. Inside the gate are guys who carry a rifle and a pistol. We still go to Konga's store for rice and sardines and sugar and nails for the coffin. Still only a handful go to mass on Sundays. In the church the men talk, sleep; the children play. The priest is sad. Last night the storm came and blew away the cornflowers. The cornfields are full of cries. Your cousin, Julia, has just become a whore. She liked good clothes, good food, big money. That's why she became a whore. Now our hometown has seven whores. Pete, old friend, every time we have good reason to get drunk and be carried home in a wheelbarrow we always remember you. Oh, we miss both Pete and Pedro. Remember us to your American wife, you lucky bastard. Islaw, your cock-eyed uncle, now calls himself Stanley after he began wearing the clothes you sent him last Christmas. P.S. Tasyo, the old goat, Sends your lizard his warmest congratulations.

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1.

Every voter should exercise his/her right to vote. One Civilian is reported to be hurt in the encounter between the military and the rebels. Each Filipino national is entitled for protection under the laws of the state. Being an amphibian make the frog a inhabitant of both land and water. For a long time now, Flemming, a Dane, has been a resident of the Philippines.
Where is Pedros hometown?

Pedros hometown is the Philippines. It is place where you can do simple things more Fun. 2. What do the farmers sell when they sell their agony and their sweat?

They sell goods that use much effort to produce that kind of products like the grains, vegetables and fruits etc. 3. What happened to the blue hills where they used to shoot birds?

The blue hills where they used to shoot birds becomes a private property wherein the mayor of the town bought it for business purposes to earn Millions of peso of it. 4. Why is the priest sad?

The Priest is sad because the people become less religious and is evident in Sunday masses where only few attend. And worse, some of those who attend are just talking to each there and sleeping, and letting their children play. They interest about the words of God become worst for the sake that they are going to the church. 5. Why are the cornfields full of cries?

The cornfields represent the environment. Because of the modernity proves to have its downside. It can slow down ones freedom. Modernity doesnt ensure us the liberty to enjoy what we want to do. The people cannot survive to the Fast Changing Environment of the town so that the cornfields full of cries. 6. What do Pedro and his friends love to do aside from shooting birds?

As side from shooting the birds they spending the summer afternoons and they loved so much doing of it. Maybe the poet portrays us hanging out with friends, enjoying the nature, hiding in the tall grasses, climbing the trees and eating lunch. In short they loved enjoying simple things together.

The poem is written without using strict meter or rhyme, but it still is recognizable as poetry by virtue of complex patterns of one sort or another that readers will perceive to be part of a coherent whole Analysis of the poem by stanza: 1st stanza. The poet started with a salutation which clearly emphasizes that the persona of the poem poses a strong bond of friendship between him and Pedro/Pete. Although the 2nd and 3rd lines seem to contradict the dominant situations in the poem which assert about changes in physical environment of the place and behavior of the people, the poet tries to stress that the things and places memorable to them are still capable of bringing back those memories am Id stall changes done. 2nd stanza. The poet represents the farmers as the poor people who, in spite of their agony in their laborious work, still receive a few pesos as their salary of their struggle. However, the poet also convey their vices such as going into cockpit and drinking alcoholic beverages, which still are true even today. 3rd to 5th stanza. The poets reveal the lifestyle and living of politicians. The third stanza entails that in every project they made; they make it to point that their efforts must be recognized such as naming those projects after them. They are unaware that the money used for their so called projects are from the people. The 4thand 5th stanza tells us that politicians own huge and luxurious properties which imply corruption. 6thto 8th stanza. The poet reveals that the people become less religious and is evident in Sunday masses where only few attend. And worse, some of those who attend are just talking to each there and sleeping, and letting their children play. 9th to 11th stanza. The poet stresses the dynamic character of people. Some become materialistic which is influenced by their love of money. Some feel that having much money is making them to have a happy existence which is likely to be a false maxim. True, money is not the root of evil but its the love of money that makes people drown in worldly matters.