Nica Jane P.

Macapinig AS 1 – EAPP
ABM 12 – 3 Mr. Mark John Acuña
M – W 8:30 – 10:30 AM -1
Reaction Paper
In
MINSAN MAY ISANG PUTA
(Mike Portes)
“Minsan may Isang Puta” by Mike Portes is a poem all about the suffering and pain of
our country, Philippines, embodied in role of a woman who is being abused by three foreigners.
These foreigners represent those three countries who try to take over our homeland. This woman
experiences many misfortunes, some of it are being a prostitute, became a mother that is being
forgotten by her own children but be able to survive from all of these. However, the poem
focuses more on the impact or effect of one of these foreigners in the life of the woman or in our
country and how we cannot resist the influences it brought to us.
Showing the situation of our country using a symbolism is one of the ideas used by the
author that I compliment the most. The author uses the word “puta” or a whore that symbolizes
how those foreigners misuse us and our resources but using such vulgar words is not appropriate
for other minors to read because they might adopt and also use it. Also, the title itself is a good
way of catching the reader’s attention and emotions. It convinces me in a way that the author
uses a woman to represent our country and its tragedy in life that emphasizes the hardships our
homeland experiences. Using a narrative form in expressing his ideas is a good way of
summarizing, detail by detail, from how the woman met the three foreigners who abuse her
sexually and how her own children betray and being a corrupt because of their possessions.
Although the poem is quite long, when a reader starts reading it, he or she cannot stop
until he or she reaches the end of the poem. One thing that had gotten my interests is the fact that
our country is already struggling but we, Filipinos or its children, continues on being corrupt and
selfish just to fulfill our wants. Because of this poem, I realized that our country, until now, is
still not recovered by the influences of other countries. “Pilipinas nga pala …..” our country who
is speaking and telling her story made me realize that maybe the hardships she was experiencing
is too much that she can’t bear it anymore, maybe she was asking for help but we just ignore it.
Honestly speaking I felt some guilt because I know I’m one of her child and I don’t think I
already contributed something for the welfare of my country. I wish that this poem, whenever
someone read it, can change the reader and made them reflect themselves that not only the
government should change but also the people itself. In the poem, the Pilipinas clearly
mentioned, “Sa dami ng mga anak ko na nagsisikap na tulungan ang kalagayan namin, siya din
ang dami ng mga anak ko na nanamantala sa kabuhayan at kayamanan na itinatabi ko para sa
punyetang kinabukasan naming lahat”. Hope that this poem will be an eye-opener to all of us.