Walking Home by Emmanuel Torres At midnight I and a stranger drowse toward separate homes.

The crunch of small stones underfoot reminds us how far we are from each other, although our shadows would include each other more than once, streaming forward from the streetlight behind us brightening the loneliness of the steps toward sleep. At the fork of the road, we part ways, deepening into night. How we are closer now, brothered by nights darkness and beasts of solitude on all fours. Each bush is thick with shadowbrows of thieves and the unloved wind blows my hair to let me in on its curious passion for prodigals. As from tree stones harden away and from stones my heels, I think of what I have done or not done, of what I am supposed to repent to the night that has small power to absolve. Frogs croak across my wayfaring, persisting upon my will to walk not past the life whose sakes could be mine to share piecemeal out to others. Stars are in their places, naturally, and have nothing to give, only beauty, although I have wronged lives and my own least name walking more than miles away from those I would love and strangers to whom I have given false directions. Yet I take courage from one lightbulb

left burning at the backdoor of a house no batwing black can foul, cancelling all thought of stars, their strange violence and stranger absences. It will not blur in my storm: one light godfathering tracks back to worn thresholds, not furthering the cause of darkness in, but my makeshift life, another only try to brighten the four corners of what I have and set straight my rooms several wayward lines The poem Walking Home by Emmanuel Torres is about a man returning to his prison cell at midnight. Immediately, we see defamiliarization coming into play as the author attempts to present a fresh take on the concept of a home, which is expressed to be a prison cell. The home is usually perceived to be a place of warmth, love, and comfort, but we see how there is a diversion from this notion. In order to analyze this piece of Philippine Literature, there was a need to thoroughly go through each stanza. It was imperative that each detail was looked at for both the literal and figurative messages. Throughout the poem, we can see how a narrative is somehow developed gradually from start to finish. Although there is no explicit declaration that the home indeed is a cell, all of the images presented in this literary piece point to that idea. We see how dark and silent objects, such as the thick bush, the several wayward lines, and the four corners, are further described to convey a sullen, prison-like, and gloomy tone. His choice of words adds a new dimension to the emotions that are depicted. The way the poem is arranged contributes to the message of the poem. We see how

organized the poem is, as all the stanzas comprise four lines each. They look very plain, thus referring to the perfunctory life in jail. In the first stanza, the character of the poem is walking back to his homes, alongside with a stranger. Despite his statement that they are walking home, they are not excited about it. Rather, they feel lonely, and the surroundings further underscore this sorrowful feeling. Both the wind and the frogs are personified as they aggravate the internal pain the persons are feeling. In the line: I think of what I have done or not done, of what I am supposed to repent to the night that has small power to absolve The main character expresses his regret of his errors in the past how he has misled other people and caused them to suffer. However, as he walks home, his prison cell, it is seen that he still finds hope and courage through the light bulb left burning at the backdoor. This optimism clears his mind of all the violent things he has done in the past, giving himself another chance in starting anew. In a life that he considers temporary, he plans to set his life straight and correct his previously made mistakes. In the end, Torress work is truly a work of art. In Walking Home, his ideas are undoubtedly brought to life through his vivid imagery. By taking the concept of home and turning it into one that we never see it as, he has forced us to not only see the point of view of an ordinary person, but also made us experience the feelings of the prisoner