Apo on the Wall

APO ON THE WALL by Bj Patino 1. There’s this man’s photo on the wall 2. Of my father’s office at home, you 3. Know, where father brings his work, 4. Where he doesn’t look strange 5. Still wearing his green uniform 6. And colored breast plates, where, 7. To prove that he works hard, he 8. Also brought a photo of his boss 9. Whom he calls Apo, so Apo could 10.You know, hang around on the wall 11.Behind him and look over his shoulders 12.To make sure he’s snappy and all. 13.Father snapped at me once, caught me 14.Sneaking around his office at home 15.Looking at the stuff on his wall- handguns, 16.Plaques, a sword, medals a rifle17.Told me that was no place for a boy 18.Only men, when he didn’t really 19.Have to tell me because, you know, 20.That photo of Apo on the wall was already 21.Looking at me around, 22.His eyes following me like he was 23.That scary Jesus in the hallway, saying 24.I know what you’re doing. Guide Questions: 1. How would you describe the persona and the persona’s father? Their relationship? 2. In lines 12 and 13, there is the use of the words “snappy” and “snapped”, respectively. What do you think these words mean? How do they add to your understanding of the relationship between the father and the son? 3. Who is Apo in the poem? Cite evidence to support your answer. 4. How would you describe the relationship between the father and Apo? What does this tell us about the father’s perspective about Martial Law? 5. What kind of values does the persona’s father want to teach his child, specifically, about what it means to be a man? 6. Why is Apo compared to the “scary” Jesus in the hallway? What do they have in common? 7. What do the father, Apo, and the “scary” Jesus have in common? 8. Read the last line of the poem. What does it mean? How does this regulate the child’s behavior? 9. Do you think the child’s perspective about Martial law is the same as his father’s? Why or why not? 10.How does this poem make you feel?