June 30, 2010
Wednesday Poem
Quatrains
/1/
I sent you a few words
ones that are now rare –
if they reach you one day,
hide them, there’s no way to understand me
/2/
the space that exists within a word
is like our home:
there are pictures, sounds, and gestures in it –
and yet we are forbidden to decipher it
/3/
for those who still believe in words:
silent is their surging core, pitch-dark is their heart of fire –
but when will we ever understand the sea?
and the eternal fire?
/4/
what do we find beyond words:
a flower garden? deep space?
in the garden, so many things are left unsaid
in space, so stark is the void
/5/
what else is left to cling on to? some words
insist on bursting through reality’s edge –
upon reaching the other shore, will it still be meaningful,
to you, everything I want to say?
/6/
in every word you read there are always
missing letters –
you will find them again someday
amidst thickets of memories.
by Sapardi Djoko Damono
translation: Hasif Amini and Sapardi Djoko Damono
from Hujan Bulan Juni
publisher: Grasindo, Jakarta, 1994
/1/
I sent you a few words
ones that are now rare –
if they reach you one day,
hide them, there’s no way to understand me
/2/
the space that exists within a word
is like our home:
there are pictures, sounds, and gestures in it –
and yet we are forbidden to decipher it
/3/
for those who still believe in words:
silent is their surging core, pitch-dark is their heart of fire –
but when will we ever understand the sea?
and the eternal fire?
/4/
what do we find beyond words:
a flower garden? deep space?
in the garden, so many things are left unsaid
in space, so stark is the void
/5/
what else is left to cling on to? some words
insist on bursting through reality’s edge –
upon reaching the other shore, will it still be meaningful,
to you, everything I want to say?
/6/
in every word you read there are always
missing letters –
you will find them again someday
amidst thickets of memories.
by Sapardi Djoko Damono
translation: Hasif Amini and Sapardi Djoko Damono
from Hujan Bulan Juni
publisher: Grasindo, Jakarta, 1994
Posted by Jim Culleny at 07:24 AM | Permalink
Comments
JC,
You've redeemed yourself.
Posted by: Frances Madeson | Jun 30, 2010 10:31:34 AM
Wonder what the poet thinks about anamotopeia words? Knock, Knock!
Posted by: odysseus14 | Jun 30, 2010 4:44:39 PM
Jim where do you dig up these gems?
Posted by: Felix E F Larocca MD | Jun 30, 2010 8:02:09 PM
Felix,
I'm a lookin' and lookin' ...
But sometimes I don't hit it right by some. Who can fathom the whims that trouble a reader?
Posted by: Jim | Jun 30, 2010 9:57:04 PM
I like this one a lot.
Posted by: Marilyn Terrell | Jun 30, 2010 10:17:05 PM
Terlalu indah!--Silahkan menulis versi bahasa Indonesia jika tersedia...it shouldn't only be Spanish that gets that honor. But thanks, beautiful.
Posted by: Zara | Jun 30, 2010 10:39:23 PM
Jim
Just keep trying while telling yourself 'I'm the greatest' For YOU are!
It's not easy to use language as a melodious instrument.
People like you tell us it's possible.
That makes a great difference.
I read you every day
Keep it UP!
Posted by: Felix E F Larocca MD | Jun 30, 2010 10:39:29 PM
This is amazing!! Seriously!
Posted by: Bahadur Hussain | Jul 2, 2010 6:55:22 AM
Post a comment