Translated Poems of Rafqi Sadikin: “Other Than Vain”, “Hourglass”, “Explosion 2”, “Partere, A Note”

Moh. Wan Anwar

Other Than Vain

other than vain, is there a sin recorded in the asphalt

and the peaceful of our backyard

maybe there is just ordinary anxious

like often something isn’t done

we are already too eloquent to chew dust

the smell of stuttering conversations

or smell of silence on a fever

but the stories on the streets are not always over

and love is not so

we are used to saying other words

from the other winds, with the other love

even a completely different feeling

we are always half-believing, half-not

like in a dream, half helpless

then we mark the distance and wound listed in the trace

while imagining gray hair later grows on the head

we read the names of buildings again, sentences on banners

and the rest of the screaming protest hanging in the space

besides being in vain, maybe there’s no sin

between us. Just for a long time we didn’t understand

where we were actually walks

Serang 2000

Translated from a poem entitle “Selain Sia-Sia” by Moh. Wan Anwar

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Willy Fahmy Agiska

Hourglass

                     Yumi Pratiwi

Maybe you don’t hear me

When the sand decays it falls

for solemn solitude and your heartfelt gaze..

I shouted a declaration of love

there, from my solitude shore

hot, infinite, anxious,

as well as the time does.

Once I became a turtle

after being repeatedly disappointed

and did not understand human love.

Then I dug deep

into the eggs for my words

year by year

until they all hatched

into the vast ocean of your heart.

And when the wind swishing,

to whose heart will I be expelled

as a poet

2014-2015

Translated from a poem entitle “Jam Pasir”  by Willy Fahmy Agiska, in “Mencatat Demam” (2018)

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M. Arfani Budiman

Explosion 2

knife-eyed woman

scratching the perfect wound

white drizzle divide the city into the wind

fairy wings gather sadness

in gloomy weather

I’m just a man who let the words

become an explosion

and destroy the entire universe

Translated from a poem entitle “Ledakan 2” by M. Arfani Budiman in “Pecahan Kaca Di Jalan Lestari” (2017)

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Nenden Lilis Aisyah

Partere, A Note

some had been read on the walls of the building

thousand events were quietly sinks

in the depths of the pond in the park

a thousand historical blisters in the ground

“Hey, look! the queen of isola swims like a fish!”

shouted the children while taking off their clothes

plunge into the water, swam the hope

“But there are dead soldiers, red pool of blood!”

exclaimed the others

ah, no, darling, there’s no queen of isola

and soldiers, even though the war is still on

I suddenly heard the “guedamus” choir

from the classrooms, then I see people

towards the gate, walk one by one

waving a diploma

her tears flowed in the noisy streets

inundate the offices, buildings, factories,

and shops; create another places

and hope and his future left behind on the benches

“Partere remains silent. does she know?”

1993

Translated from a poem entitle “Partere, Sebuah Catatan” by Nenden Lilis Aisyah, ini “Negeri Sihir”