Apo on the Wall: A Review

The Background:

       The poem discussed on this review is about the Martial law. The Martial law is a historical event in the Philippines, declared on September 23, 1972 during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Sr and lasted until January 17, 1981. It was declared as an effort to stablize the country from threat of the insurgency. But from what we know today, the goal was not fully realized and it only caused a mass of violence that inflicted trauma and fear among many Filipinos.

The Poem:

Apo on the Wall

By: Bj Patiño

There’s this man’s photo on the wall 

Of my father’s office at home, you 

Know, where father brings his work,

Where he doesn’t look strange

Still wearing his green uniform 

And colored breast plates, where, 

To prove that he works hard, he

Also brought a photo of his boss

Whom he calls Apo, so Apo could 

You know, hang around on the wall

Behind him and look over his shoulders 

To make sure he’s snappy and all. 

Father snapped at me once, caught me

Sneaking around his office at home

Looking at the stuff on his wall- handguns,

Plaques, a sword, medals a rifle-

Told me that was no place for a boy

Only men, when he didn’t really

Have to tell me because, you know, 

That photo of Apo on the wall was already 

Looking at me around,

His eyes following me like he was 

That scary Jesus in the hallway, saying

I know what you’re doing.

The Overview:

       Apo on the wall is a poem told in the perspective of the child. The poem is about the father and the hanging photo on the wall called "Apo". It is a telling of the story of the traumatic events during the reign of president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. In a way, the poem is a flashback of a child, showing us how different the perspective of a child compared to an adult. But even though the child may not have a full sense of the weight of the problem, the child knows that their situation is very hard and difficult.

The Review:

         What I liked about this poem is its use of allegory. The poem never explicitly said that Apo is the persona of Ferdinand Marcos Sr, without any context, the poem is about the photo, the strict father, and the child who's scared by the photo. Apo on the wall is a well-made narration that perfectly tells the young readers, those who have not experienced the Martial law, what it felt like living throught those times. To me, I see Ferdinand Marcos Sr. as a scary monster who has eyes and ears everywhere, ready to catch us if we ever let out any noise. Moreover, the child in the story could also be the persona of the people living through those times, the father is the policemen, and soldiers who blindly follows the orders of Ferdinand Marcos Sr, and Apo is the mastermind, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

       Apo on the wall invokes a feeling of empathy, to everyone who have experienced the Martial law. It is saddening that they have to experience a long grueling years, especially to the children who's growing up during a very difficult time. If we go back to the persona, they perfectly show us how strict and though the times were, it feels like at any moment the child could get beaten by the father if he doesn't follow. And to the father as well, since I know that the father doesn't have any choice but hold the image of strenght and strictness, since showing signs of weakness and pity to the people may land him a punishment. In addition, from many accounts of the people, including my parents, they've told the same story as what the poem is trying to communicate to us. It just shows how truly well made the poem is.

       Apo on the wall is a poem that not only talks about what happened in the past but teaches us to appreciate the freedom we have today, to appreciate that we didn't experience that past full of trauma and bad memories, to appreciate that our loved ones had survived. Without this poem, I wouldn't realize how many things in our current day is taken for granted. Imagine being able to just post in Facebook your criticisms and complaints about our government, back then if you do the same through publishing, they'll track you down and torture you. It's also easy for us to take for granted the freedom we have to go to any place, back then you can't go to many places without heavy surveillance especially outside our country. I am thankful and appreciative of what we have today and you should too.