1. Literary Piece : All Because You Kissed Me Goodnight
by:Sandy Rolstan
I climbed up the door and opened the stairs,
Said my pajamas and put on my prayers,
Then I turned off the bed and crawled into the light,
All because you kissed me goodnight!
Next morning I woke up and scrambled my shoes,
Picked up my eggs and toasted the news,
I couldn’t tell my left from right,
All because you kissed me goodnight!
That evening at last I felt normal again,
So I picked up my mother and called the phone,
I spoke to the puppy and threw Dad a bone,
Even at midnight the sun was still bright,
All because you kissed me goodnight!
Literary Circle Outputs:
Literary Luminary:
Line 7: I couldn’t tell my left from right
Discussion: We chose this line because it tells what the person in the poem feels. He can’t think straight and he is a bit confused. Something or someone is bothering him that causes him to jumble his words. It was like he can’t clearly figure out what he’s going to do next.
Line 8: All because you kissed me goodnight
Discussion: We chose this line because it holds a very significant role in the poem. This explains the reason why the person in the text is acting in some unusual ways. The reason why he is acting weird is because someone gave him a goodnight kiss and that he can’t stop thinking about it the next day.
Word Wizard:
Word: goodnight
Definition: An expression of courtesy which means wishing someone a nice sleep.
Reason and Discussion:
I’ve chosen this word since it is used in an unusual way. Technically, “goodnight” is an expression of courtesy and when written formally, it is not compounded like in the poem. In this literary work, it plays as the direct object of the usually intransitive verb “kiss”. In the regularly repeated fist line “All because you kissed me goodnight.”
“Goodnight” here in the poem is a significantly precious object that caused the speaker to seem out of his mind by narrating what happens after he receives it, abnormally. It is also the reason behind why the syntax is manipulated with a corresponding effect.
Illustrator:
The illustration above symbolizes the feeling when you are in love. Your world keeps stumbling and falling. The illustration embodies the poem “all because you kissed me goodnight.
Connector:
Love- makes you do things you never did before. It would make you as high as a kite, brings joy to your life and makes you get out of your mind. This poem talks about what the author feels after a goodnight kiss that’s probably from his/her lover. This feeling is being emotionally high that disturbs his/her concentration.
On my own experience, although it isn’t a kiss it’s really incredible. My crush smiled at me. I felt emotionally high that my brain scattered because of that twinkling and beaming smile. Butterflies keep on flying on my stomach. I could hardly breathe. When I went home, I can’t help but to smile; and all I think about is his smile. So it lead me make silly mistakes as I performed my nightly chores. I even had a hard time sleeping. I wish they didn’t notice that.
Another is when my sister had her first kiss. She was not herself at all. She looks so happy the night she came home. Smiles are plastered on her lips. She’s acting strange by making lots of errors while doing her tasks. It was written all over her face, she’s totally in love.
The last story I have here is a very funny one from the past that I have witnessed. It is when my neighbor named Carl, together with his girlfriend is torridly kissing on the road then both of them fall unto the ground, felt ashamed and came back to their senses. Love is good, but if they are practically displaying their affection on public, then that’s another story. Well, witnessing them fall to the ground while kissing is a very hilarious scene. Most specifically the awkwardness they felt? Priceless! As what I’ve said, love would make you do unusual things.
The writing is simply but just a mirror of an extreme and unexplained happiness dealing with love. It makes you forget what’s right or wrong; all you know that deep in your heart that you are happily in love with the person you thought would never love you.
Then there, the problem arises; such as “Teenage Pregnancy”. We, teenagers must focus on studying, must always focus on our future. True love waits! We must not fall on things that we think is love- but isn’t. True love is when your lover respects the whole you and will wait for the proper time. We must always bear that in mind. Temptations are everywhere. We must get rid of those.
Questioner:
- Why do you think the author chose that style in expressing her thoughts?
The author chose that style in expressing her thoughts because she wants to connect her work into reality. She wants all her reader to have the same feeling in interpreting her poem. Having this kind of style maybe her way of expressing that to be kissed was like having a jumbled mind, which was also the author’s thoughts too.
- How does the style of the poem affect its meaning?
The style emphasizes the meaning of the poem- when you were kissed by someone, you are not in your normal self, like you simply ca not figure out which is your left and your right, because you keep on thinking about that kiss. Especially, if it was your first one. Lastly, the style affects the emotion of the poem.
- What do you think the reason why the narrator felt jumbled?
The reason why the narrator felt jumbled was all because of that kiss from a special someone. Though it was just a good night kiss, it was enough for her to feel that way.
Summarizer:
The poem was all about a boy/girl who just received their first kiss. He/she can’t do things properly because he/she still thinks about his/her first kiss cause when people fell in love they can’t sleep at night, because they keep on thinking about their lovers. They smile secretly when they remember funny memories with their special someone.
2. Literary Piece : What You Don’t Know About an OFW
by: Al – Amrey
(No preview available. Search the books !)
Literary Luminary
“The poor Filipino who migrated in a foreign land just chose to become poor somewhere else”
I chose this line because the thought of thus line is very meaningful. Some Filipinos working abroad are degree holders. Some are teachers, nurses, engineers, doctors or even lawyer. Some Filipinos go abroad to earn money, but even though they are degree holders they are being placed in a factory in other country.
Same as the speaker in the story. She is a teacher Master in Linguistics and Language here in our country, but when she went to Taiwan she was just working in a factory, while she can have a good job here in our country. Yes! Her salary in Taiwan as a factory worker is higher than her salary here as a teacher. But, she is just a factory worker in that country and she did not use her degree to find a better work in Taiwan.
Vocabulary Enricher/ Word Wizard
Word: Cringe
Definition: To feel disgust and embarrassment and often to show this feeling by a movement of your face or body
Discussion: This word was used to describe the reaction of other Filipino living abroad whenever they hear a compliment towards other OFWs, whom they know that are involved in some immoral doings.
Word: Diaspora
Definition: a group of people who live outside the area in which they had lived for a long time or in which their ancestors lived
Discussion: The word, “diaspora” was an unfamiliar word. This word was used to connect the OFWs and other Filipinos who lived in the Philippines for a very long time and then decided to work and live outside the Philippines. Wherever country you go, you can meet Filipinos in there. Some are working and some are staying there for good.
Word: Migrate
Definition: to move from one country or place to live or work in another
Discussion: This word was used multiple times in the text. Since we are talking about the life of the OFWs and other Filipinos who decided to live outside the Philippines, this word was the appropriate word to use to describe their actions. Filipinos sometimes leave the Philippines and transfer to a more sophisticated country to look for a better opportunity. They often migrate in other countries because of the job opportunities given to them.
ILLUSTRATOR
When Filipinos face financial problems they often think that going abroad is the only solution.
CONNECTOR
Being an OFW is not easy. I can see some of my mother’s friend suffer because of the fact that they are away from their loved ones, family, and friends. Poverty pushes them away from our country. They have to work outside the Philippines because they can’t find any job here, and if they have found something to work on, the salary is not enough to sustain the needs of their family. There are also some who sacrifice their stable jobs here in the Philippines just to be near with their family. They just thought about applying a job outside the country and risking everything.
Questioner:
1) What are the reasons why Filipinos go abroad?
There are different reasons why people leave a certain country. The most common reason is to alleviate poverty. There are also uncommon reasons why they migrate- maybe because of political instability, health risks, severed family ties, lust for exploration, marriage, education opportunities or the migrant is simply bored enough but has enough to migrate in more sophisticated countries.
2) Based on the story, are OFWs worthy enough to be called “Bagong Bayani”? Why or why not?
Some of them are, some aren’t. according to the speaker, there are lots of unspoken sins of OFWs; she has seen how Filipinos changed. That’s why she cringes every time she hears about Gloria Administration’s “Ang Bagong Bayani”. Want to know why? The speaker has seen her dorm mate who used to be a nurse in the Philippines; built a shrine of photos to remember her family but still got involved into an affair. Some would shoplift, abuse their patients and some would also ask for greater salary.
For the speaker, a true “Bagong Bayani” is someone who does his/her job whole-heartedly. Someone who is dedicated on his/her job. Not just doing the job because it is her task but this is what they love to do. New heroes are those who’s willing to work hard, even though managers (in the Philippines), but worked hard in the first world countries. They are those people who deserve our salute.
3) In the story, how hard is it being an OFW?
Except for the fact that you’ll miss your family; temptations are rampant. Just like those who involve themselves in affair, stealing and many more. The speaker emphasized that certain reality. Wherein after all the hype about the baikbayan brining home bounty from other lands has died down. The poor Filipino who migrated land had just chosen to become poor somewhere else. There are things and opportunities that our country could offer.
SUMMARIZER
The story began when the narrator began to narrate her story on how she left the Philippines few years ago. Being an OFW was not new to her. She had her three older siblings working in US. Most of her aunts, uncles, and other relatives were in New Jersey, Ojai, and Los Angeles, California. In her case, she left the country because she was looking for something. Something she simply cannot find here in our country. She was sick of all paper woks and being a school teacher. She left because she wants to get out of her hometown that simply choked her spirit that clamored for independence and freedom. She left because her heart was. Her husband needs to work for a living so she went there to be with him forever.
OCW or Overseas Contract Worker had fill I skill gaps in most European countries in 1960’s. Then it grew, like most country in Middle East and Asia-Pacific. OCWs job are those they would never do here in our country, like domestic helpers, entertainers, nannies, construction workers; though, most of them were degree holders.
The narrator was not way too different from them. She had her bachelor’s degree and masters in Linguistics and Language Teaching here in the Philippines. Out there in Taiwan she works as a quality assurance tester in a notebook computer company. She had to endure the pain and swelling from nine to 14 hours of working in the factory, and her boss was too strict and harsh.
She had seen how Filipinos change out there. Some have been shoplifting and stealing. The most horrible for her was an OFW having an affair to a married man and still devoted to her family here in the Philippines. Thus, she came back here and left her work as a computer factory worker. She may have realized that it would be better to work here in the Philippines than go to a foreign country and choose to become poorer there.
BSE II - English 2016-2017 