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The poem presents a struggling family in the current COVID-19 pandemic period.

The poem implies that Gina and her family are running out of food. This can be seen in the first seven lines of the poem because the persona asks Gina if they have enough rice for today and if there will be left-overs for their children the next day, what if they skip a few meals, and many more questions. He then reveals his frustration with their current state by asking what is so right in being this hungry, poor, and in suffering silence.

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The persona of the poem is Gina’s spouse or partner. This can be deduced using context clues, especially in the “will there still be some left for the children tomorrow?” line. His worrying about food and how the children and family will survive in the next few days can also be used as evidence that he is a parent since this is one of the things parents do. He is undoubtedly nervous about the pandemic and how his family will survive as seen in the lines where he talks about the ways of prolonging their food. There are also hints of anger since he used the word “goddamn” in one of the later lines of the poem.

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At first, the poem can look simple and you can understand the message by just reading the lines. But there are a few lines that can be understood in a deeper level. The poem starts off with the persona asking Gina to look at the old Fita bin which contains rice. These lines contain imagery so that the reader can imagine what the poem is trying to say. Another way to analyze it is that the family is poor since they use an old Fita bin to store their rice.

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Another line that has a deeper meaning is when the persona asks what if the lugaw had a few more cups of water in it. It then again shows their situation because they are thinking of ways to prolong their food. Adding water to the lugaw will make it look like there is a lot more food, but in reality, it will not be enough since the only thing you added is the “soup” part of the lugaw. This will not help in stopping the feeling of hunger.

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There are three parts in the poem where the words are not spaced correctly, and this just likes to emphasize some words like skipped, stretch, and wait.

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The other figures of speech present in this poem are hyperbole and irony. For the hyperbole, it is seen in the words: “dizzying tide of hunger.”

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Then for irony, it is seen in the lines: “there’s police with guns… in all states of ‘wrong’...” The job of the police is to protect the people from harm and help them when they need help, but the poem states that the police abuse their power by taking advantage of people– particularly the poor or underprivileged community.

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Now, this is linked to another creative line of the poem. When reading the title of the poem and the poem itself, one would think that it would be about the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there are another meaning readers can get from this poem, and it is in the lines: "I know the belly aches but… in being this hungry'?” What the colon in “...disease: there’s police with guns and armor sitting at the end of the street?” refers to are the police. The police get orders from the government to take charge of controlling the people going out of their homes, but their appearance with guns and armor just instill fear in the mind of people.

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The poem shows the state of the majority of Filipino families at the time of the pandemic. This can be stemmed from the government’s shortcomings and slow response to the pandemic. The lines from “What’s so right in being this poor?” to “Gina, are we asking too many questions” show what these Filipinos are feeling. They are frustrated and scared for the future of their family and the country. These lines also show that Filipinos start to question if it is their fault that they are in that type of spot or if it's the government’s fault.

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It is extremely relevant to the world today because it shows readers the perspective of the majority of families in the Philippines. It shows how much these families struggle and sacrifice to provide for their families to survive. The poem also shows the effects of the government’s unsatisfactory response and performance against Covid-19. There are still so many Filipinos suffering because of Covid-19 and the shortcomings of the government. These problems are relevant to the world today because it is connected to the upcoming elections. It is our chance to elect better leaders that care for the people and country.

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One of the things the poem wants to tell about the world is that the world needs great, competent, caring, and quick needed leaders. No one expected this pandemic, and it all happened in a flash. The leaders have to make decisions quickly to cope with the problems the country and people are dealing with. This poem also implies the truth that life is unfair. There are people that are less fortunate than us, and they can be left behind in these situations. When the pandemic started or when lockdowns are announced people started to panic buy and empty the shelves of stores. But there are some people who do not have the resources to buy stuff for their families. So since they are not able to catch up with the privileged members of society, they have an even harder time coping and surviving the pandemic.

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When I read the poem once, I thought that I related to it because my family struggled because of Covid. My lola passed away last year, my two ninangs were hospitalized (one was in critical condition), my cousins got the virus, my parents and even I got the virus and suffered. But after rereading the poem made me realize that the struggles I faced were completely different from what many families go through. I am very lucky and blessed that we do not worry if we will have enough food for the day and upcoming days, we have a reliable roof over our heads, and many more. I liked the way the author wrote the poem because she made it straight to the point and easy to understand. I can also say that this poem is very timely because I am a registered voter. I feel like it is a message to me that I should research and understand each of the candidate’s plans and I should vote for leaders who will have a big positive impact on the country.

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