Merdeka?

Songsang

Maafkan aku, jika aku sering saja berlaku songsang
Terutama di perayaan tahunan seperti hari ini
Apabila orang bangun berdiri; aku duduk
Apabila orang bertepuk tangan; aku diam
Apabila orang ghairah berbincang; aku tidur
Apabila orang lepaskan merpati; aku taburkan padi
Orang lain telah merdeka; aku belum
Maafkan aku, jika aku sering saja berlaku songsang
Aku sekadar ingin mengingatkan…

~ Latiff Mohidin

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of the night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you thread on my dreams.

~ He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven, William Butler Yeats

One day you will ask me which is more important?

My life or yours?

I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing that you are my life.

~ The Great Kahlil Gibran

Holy Week

I love Kahlil Gibran. While I do not read his writings religiously, I have found that coming back to his writings during the Holy Week always resonates strongly.

Holy week this year will be exceptionally significant. For the first time in many years, I will not be involved in any aspect of music making at my church. Ugly politics and disgusting work ethics have seen the untimely exit of R, our music coordinator and a man whom I have the greatest respect for. His exit has also marked mine and I’ll be moving parish very soon. It was inevitable, I guess, given how things were already stacked up.

Thankfully, I’m not too sentimental. I just want to move on, start afresh. And to stay away from toxic characters – they do no good to my emotional health.

****

Pilate’s Wife to a Roman Lady

I WAS WALKING with my maidens in the groves outside of Jerusalem when I saw Him with a few men and women sitting about Him; and He was speaking to them in a language which I only half understood.

But one needs not a language to perceive a pillar of light or a mountain of crystal. The heart knows what the tongue may never utter and the ears may never hear.

He was speaking to His friends of love and strength. I know He spoke of love because there was melody in His voice; and I know He spoke of strength because there were armies in His gestures. And He was tender, though even my husband could not have spoken with such authority.

When He saw me passing by He stopped speaking for a moment and looked kindly upon me. And I was humbled; and in my soul I knew I had passed by a god.

After that day His image visited my privacy when I would not be visited by man or woman; and His eyes searched my soul when my own eyes were closed. And His voice governs the stillness of my nights.

I am held fast forevermore; and there is peace in my pain, and freedom in my tears.

Beloved friend, you have never seen that man, and you will never see Him.

He is gone beyond our senses, but of all men He is now the nearest to me.

~ Jesus, the Son of Man, Kahlil Gibran

How low can you go?

Dear all,

While this blog does not garner much readership from many, I would still like to alert you to a book currently on the market.

This book was written by Natasha Hudson, called Puisi Indah Sri Pari-Pari – a collection of children’s poetry in Malay.

Her book contains 3 accounts of blatant plagiarism:

Kek Coklat by Natasha Hudson

Saya mahu satu kehidupan,
Kamu mahu sesuatu yang lain,
Kita tidak dapat makan kek coklat,
Jadi kita makan sesama diri.

The original ‘Cake’ written by Roger McGough

i wanted one life
you wanted another
we couldn’t have our cake
so we ate each other.

********************

Si Kura-Kura Kecil by Natasha Hudson

Ada seekor kura-kura kecil
tinggal di dalam kotak
berenang di tepi tasik
memanjat di atas batu

dia cuba menggigit nyamuk
dia cuba mengigit kutu
dia cuba menggigit berudu
dia cuba menggigit aku

dia berjaya menangkap nyamuk
dia berjaya menangkap kutu
dia berjaya menangkap berudu
tetapi dia tidak berjaya menangkap aku

The Little Turtle by Vachel Lindsay

There was a little turtle.
He lived in a box.
He swam in a puddle.
He climbed on the rocks.

He snapped at a mosquito.
He snapped at a flea.
He snapped at a minnow.
And he snapped at me.

He caught the mosquito.
He caught the flea.
He caught the minnow.
But he didn’t catch me.

********************

Mentega kuning, jelly ungu, jam merah, roti hitam by Natasha Hudson

Mentega kuning, jelly ungu, jam merah, roti hitam
ratakan tebal
katakan cepat

ratakan tebal
katakan cepat

sekarang ulang
sambil kamu makan

sekarang ulang
sambil kamu makan

janganlah bercakap
bila mulut kamu penuh

Things We Like to Eat by Mary Ann Hoberman

Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
Spread it thick,
Say it quick.

Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread
Spread it thicker,
Say it quicker.

Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread
Now repeat it,
While you eat it.

Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread
Don’t talk
With your mouth full!

********************

To non-Malay readers, I apologise. To those who do read Malay, you will see what I mean.

It is blatant plagiarism besides the grotesque translations. I am not a writer but I am a reader. And it is disgusting.

Read more:

Thru d eyes of toughcookie

Bibliobibuli

Jannah Raffali’s blog