GOENAWAN MUHAMMAD, 1971

GOENAWAN MUHAMMAD, 1971

Dongeng Sebelum Tidur

Cicak itu, cintaku, berbicara tentang kita.Yaitu nonsens.

Itulah yang dikatakan baginda kepada permaisurinya,Pada malam itu. Nafsu diranjang telah jadi teduhDan senyap merayap antara sendi dan sprei.

Mengapakah tak percaya? Mimpi akan meyakinkanSeperti matahari pagi.

Perempuan itu terisak, ketika anglingdarma menutupkanKembali kain ke dadanya dengan nafas yang dingin,Meskipun ia mengecup rambutnya.

Esok harinya permaisuri membunuh diri dalam api.

Dan baginda pun mendapatkan akal bagaimana ia harusMelarikan diridengan pertolongan dewa-dewa entahDarimanauntuk tidak setia.

Batik madrim, Batik madrim, mengapa harus, patihku?Mengaa harus seorang mencintai kesetiaan lebih dariKehidupan dan sebagainya dan sebagainya?

1971

GOENAWAN MUHAMMAD

Bedtime Tale

That lizard, my love, is talking about us. Which is to say,Nonsense.

That is what the king told his consort that night. The passion of theBad had calmed while silence seeped twixt skin and sheets.

Why not believe it? The dream will be as convincing as the morning sun.The women sobbed whwn anglindarma replaced the cloth around her breast with a chill in his breath thought he did kiss her hair

The following day the quenn killed herself in the pyre

And the king, too, found a way for himself to flee- with the helpOf the gods, who know which ones-from disloyalty

Batik madrim, Batik madrim, why must you, my regent?Why must a person love loyalty more than life and so on and so forth?

1971Translated by John H.McGlynn

SUTARDJI CALZOUM BACHRI

Tanah Airmata

Tanah airmata tanah tumpah dukakuMata air airmata kamiAirmata tanah air kami

Di sinilah kami berdiriMenyanyikan airmata kami

Di balik gembur subur tanahmuKami simpan perih kamiDi balik etalas megah gedung-gedungmuKami coba sembunyikan darita kami

Kami coba simpan nestapaKami coba kuburkan duka laraTapi perih tak bisa sembunyiIa merebak ke mana mana

Bumi memang tak sebatas pandangDan udara luas menungguNamun kalian takkan bisa menyingkirKe mana pun melangkahKalian pijak airmata kamiKe mana pun terbangKalian kan hinggap di airmata kamiKe mana pun berlayarKalian arungi airmata kami

Kalian sudah terkepungTakkan bisa mengelakTakkan bisa ke mana pergiMenyerahlah pada kedalaman airmata kami

SUTARDJI COLZOUM BACHRI

Wellspring of Tears

Wellspring of my tears, wellspring of sorrowWellspring of our tears wellSpring of our land

Here now we standSinging of our tears

In the fertility of your landWe secret our hurtIn the grand storefronts of your buildingsWe seek to hide our suffering

We seek to secret our griefTo bury the pain and sorrowBut hurt can not be hiddenIt spreads everywhere

The world does not end at the limits o sightAnd a broud sky awaitsThat you can not avoidWherever you treadYou step on our tearsWhwrever you flyYou alight on our tearsWhwrever you sailYou cross over our tears

You have been surroundedAnd you can not get awayNot ever, no matter where you goYou must surrender to the depth of our tears.

CHAIRIL ANWARSENJA DI PELABUHAN KECIL( B uat Sri Ayati)

Ini kali tidak ada yang mencari cintaDi antara gudang, rumah tua, pada ceritaTiang serta temali. Kapal, perahu tidak berlautMenghembus diri dalam mempercaya mau berpaut

Gerimis mempercepat kelam. Ada juga kelepak elangMenyinggung muran, desir hari lari berenangMenemu bujuk pangkal akanan. Tidak bergerakDan kini tanah dan air tidur hilang ombak

Tiada lagi aku sendiri. BerjalanMenyisir semenanjung, masih pengap harapSekali tiba di unjung dan sekalian selamat tinggalDari pantai keempat, sedu penghabisan bisa terdekap

1946

CHAIRIL ANWARTWILIGTH AT A LITTLE HARBOR(For Sri Ayati)

This Time no ones looking for loveBetween the sheds, the old houses, in twitterOf poles and rigging. A bout, a prau forever out of waterPuffs and snorts, thingking theres something it can catch hold of;With a flick, the day brushes at the gloom, then swims silkilyTo meet temptations yet to come. Nothing movesAnd now the sand the sea are a sleep, the waves are gone

Thats all. Im alone. Walking,Combing the cape, still drowning the hopeOf getting to the end of it and just once saying goodby to everythingFrom the fourth beach, embracing the last, the final sob of all.

1946

REMY SYLADOIBU KOTA KOTA IBU

Kalau aku makmurKubeli Jakarta, kucelup jadi putih

Kau bisa bayangkanKalau Jakarta tiba-tiba putih semuaMas di puncak Monas: putihPatung Selamat datang : putihPohon Taman Surapati: putihLapangan sepak Bola Istora: putihAir Ciliwung: putih

Barangkali dengan putihDosa-dosa Jakarta akan tersamarPenjambretan, penodongan, pemerkosaanPerjudian, pelacuran, pembunuhan:putih!

Putih kau tau warna kesucianTapi putih kau pun tau, warna kekalahanBagaimana orang bisa dipercaya bicaraJika ia berada dalam kelas yang kalahSeperti kini Jakarta disesaki olehnya

Kalau aku kalahKumau kalah dengan kesucianTapi aku tidak persis dalam kalau-kuKunyanyikan ode ini untukmuBetapapun tak merdu, sediakanlah kupingmu

Ini kota, kau tau, bukan sekedar IbukotaTapi kota IbuDengan sejumlah kalau

REMY SYLADOTHE CAPITAL

If I am richI will buy Jakarta, and paint it white

Can you imagineJakarta suddenly turns all whiteGold on top of Monas: WhiteWelcome statue: whiteTrees in Surapati garden: whiteIstora Football stadium: whiteWater of Ciliwung: white

Probably with whiteThe sins of Jakarta will be cleansedSnatch thieves, molestersGambling, prostitution, murders: white!

Do you know that white is the colour of sacrednessBut you also know white is also the colour of defeatAnd who ever will believe the words of defeatedWhen he is of the lower classWhich Jakarta is full of now

If I am defeatedI want to be defeated in sacrednessBut I cannot survive with my ifsSo I sing this ode for youHow unmelodious, please listen to it

The city, you know, is not only a capitalIt is also a mother cityWith a couple of ifs

SAPARDI DJOKO DAMONO

BERJALAN KE BARAT WAKTU PAGI HARI

Waktu aku berjalan ke barat di waktu pagiMatahari mengikutiku di belakangAku berjalan mengikuti bayang-bayangku sendiriYang memenjang di depanAku dan matahari tidak bertengkar tentang siapa diantara kamiYang telah menciptakan bayang-bayangAku dan bayang-bayang tidak bertengkar tentang siapa diantara kami yang harus berjalan di depan

SAPARDI DJOKO DAMONO

WALKING WESTWARD IN THE MORNING

Walking westward in the morning the sun follows from behindI walk following my drawn out shadow before meThe sun and I dont argue about which one of us creates the shadowsThe shadows and I dont argue about which of us must lead the way