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In the 2020 poem “Important Questions During Lockdown” by Tiny Diapana, it is my observation that the dramatic situation in the poem is likely to be that of an impoverished Filipino family facing the hardships brought about by the Philippine government-imposed lockdowns.

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In the poem, the persona could be Tiny Diapana herself, but since there is not enough evidence of this, I will presume that this is just the poet lending us the perspective of a less fortunate person in such a situation for the rest of my analysis.

Based on the persona’s dialogue, I interpret the tone of the poem to be one laced with worry for fear of destitution, disconcertment over the situation that the persona and their companion, Gina, are in. The mood this poem evokes from me is a sense of woe in the face of creeping desolation, and as I read it over and over again, I grow disturbed and fearful, vestiges of hope seeping out and away, and the persona seems to feel this too.

Overall, I would describe the persona to be a Filipino who has a family of sorts in the same situation as them, speaking to a companion of theirs named “Gina.” Given the hints regarding the contents of their home and their presumed socioeconomic status, these coming from the lines,

“...take a look at the old Fita bin” (Fita being a relatively popular yet inexpensive brand of crackers found in the Philippines),

“Can we keep going from chair to chair. from sofa to bed” (the lack of any mention of other furniture in the home leading me to this presumption),

and “…what’s so goddamn right in being this hungry’? What’s so right in being this poor?”

…the persona and their family are probably of the lower-middle to lower class  population of the Philippines yet still have multiple children to take care of, as referenced in the line,

“Will there still be some left for the children tomorrow?”

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As for the figures of speech found in the poem, the line,

“Do you honestly think we would be able to stretch our patience, our faith, our body, our limits…”

…leads me to the observation that the poet uses the figure of speech known as “hyperbole” in their work, given that the words being described as being stretched, besides “body,” are abstract concepts, and given the context of the poem, the literal stretching of one’s body does not usually occur in such a situation. The image this line offers in the poem is that of the persona openly expressing doubt in their patience, faith, physical capabilities, and overall limits as they face the situation they are in, and it contributes to the overall feeling of crawling dread and hopelessness that I believe are evoked by the poem.

The figure of speech known as “irony” can also be found in the text in the line,

“…when is it ever going to be safe to go outside now that there’s disease: there’s police with guns and armor sitting at the end of the street?”

I believe this is ironic because, knowing the Philippine National Police mottos of “To Serve and Protect,” the persona in the poem does not feel like their nearby presence is serving them right, nor does it sound like the persona feels protected and safe with them being in such close proximity. In short, the irony of the situation is that, instead of people like the persona feeling safe with the police around, they feel more cautious and anxious. Just like the line above, this line conjures the image of a fearful persona who seems to have lost faith in the promise of service and protection from the national police institution, further contributing to the aforementioned feeling of disturbance and hopelessness that I believe the poem evokes.

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Overall, I think the poem is trying to say that the lockdowns are doing more harm to people in the situation and status of the persona, this being an impoverished person who has a family to feed (yet not much to feed them with) and protect in the midst of a stringent government-imposed lockdown. For instance, in light of the situation they are in, they have been left hungry, as stated in the line,

“…what’s so goddamn right in being this hungry’?”

…yet it seems like they cannot do anything to address it, as hinted at in the line,

“I know the belly aches but when is it ever going to be safe to go outside now that there’s disease: there’s police with guns and armor sitting at the end of the street?”

…because of the strictness of the lockdowns and the concurrent deployment of armed police officers, who look for any reason to presumably arrest or enact injustice or harm unto anyone they deem a dissident, as referenced in the line,

“They’re waiting for people in all states of ‘wrong’…”

…to emphasize the stringency of the government-imposed lockdowns.

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It is my observation that the poem was made as a critique of the way the Philippine government is handling the outbreak of the 2019 Coronavirus disease in the Philippines from the perspective of a less fortunate Filipino citizen.

Thus, I believe that it is relevant to Philippine society at present due to the poem tackling an issue that continues on till this very moment.

As for the rest of the world, it may also still prove relevant to countries that are still under stringent government-imposed quarantines due to the economically, emotionally, and physically oppressive natures of such measures on the impoverished populaces of nations still implementing lockdowns on their citizens.

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I believe that the poem’s theme is about the oppressiveness of our world and society, this being its message as well, and how it draws fear, desolation, discomfort, and hopelessness on humans despite presumably not intending on having this effect.

The intent of the 2019-to-present day lockdowns was to mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus disease and keep the populace safe from it, but the poem seems to show another reality of our current situation wherein these lockdown measures cause more harm than good.

I believe that the world, in this poem, is reflected in the creeping hunger drawn out by the inability to go out and sate one’s need for food, in the fear and distrust drawn out by the presence of armed government forces, and in the growing, unsettling tightness in not having the freedom to leave one place in search of more variety in one’s environment.

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My personal thoughts regarding the poem are that I somewhat feel like I understand the situation that the poem lays out, but I also feel thankful that I have yet to experience what it is like to be in such a severe situation.

Initially reading it, I felt for the persona, and I felt like I understood exactly what they were going through. However, as I read it more, I felt more distant from the persona, that I knew not the perils and trouble that they were going through, and for that, I feel thankful yet more lonely, for I cannot completely relate to the persona in the poem.

I do resonate with the feeling of being trapped because of the lockdown, having been under lockdown myself for about two years now, the feeling that my patience, my mettle, and my very limits were being tested by the necessity to stay indoors for a prolonged period of time.

Other than that, I still somewhat regret to say that I cannot resonate with the other feelings that the persona presumably expresses in this work, such as the feeling of hunger due to what seems to be an impending food shortage, the fear of having police officers armed with firearms and clad in protection nearby, or the overall feeling of being impoverished as a whole.