Ang mga Lugar ay Pawang mga Lugar Lamang

The poem "Ang mga Lugar ay Pawang mga Lugar Lamang" of Juan Miguel Severo offers a
heartbreaking truth of how places remind us of someone we once had but is already gone. This critique
paper aims to understand the message of the poem as well as to give importance to what the speaker
wants to convey to the readers. Out of the elements of poetry, this critique will primarily focus on the
theme or the significant human experience.

The poem used "places" which can be symbolic because people relate to places and it is where
they bond and find a sense of belongingness. Also, it used conversational tone which creates a personal
connection between the author and the reader, while the use of significant rhymes add interest to the
poem.

The first four stanzas of the poem indicate a connection among places such as how parks are for
strolling and roads are intended for cars. But the last two lines of the first stanza "Sabihin mo sa sarili
mo: Ang mga lugar ay pawang mga lugar lamang" is telling someone to be strong enough to say that
places are merely places. The following stanza quoting, "Huwag kang magkakamaling hanapin maski
anino niya sa tabi mo o ang mga hakbang ng mga paa niyang dating sumasabay sayo." is reproving
someone who would imagine that everything in that place has a connection to the person that he/she
was once with. On the third stanza, the author slaps the truth to the reader by saying "wala na sha"
which means, the idea of him/her is no longer existing and all that is left to do is to move on, it plays a
significant part of the poem because intends to talk to someone to forget The remaining lines would
impart that places were just places until we walk with someone who gives us a sense of warmth and
comfort that corrects us from saying "places are just places" because with someone on that place, it
becomes home. While the repitition in the poem "paulit-ulit paulit-ulit ipapaalala ko sa sarili ko" is
emphasizing that a constant reminder would help to forget pain for it takes time to take away the shock
of losing someone. The poem ended with lines that brings acceptance. The lines "Maglalaboy ako
hanggang matanggap ko. Itong mga lugar na pawang mga lugar lamang at hindi tahanan ng mga alaala
mo." Tells the reader to hurt themselves by walking the same path all over again until that place
becomes an ordinary place and nothing more.

Overall, the author was able to relay the message that it wants to impart which is acceptance. It
was achieved through using a conversational tone which made it easier to be understood. Whilewould
leave us with a message that in life, we travel in individual paths until someone intervenes and makes
everything either beautiful or tragic. But one thing is for certain, though things are hard and truths are
ugly, it helps us to become better versions of ourselves.