DJOKO DAMONO, Sapardi

Rain in June

Nothing is more steadfast

than the June rain

keeping its longing a secret

to the flowering tree.

Nothing is wiser

than the June rain

wiping off the footprints

full of doubts in that avenue.

Nothing is more sensible

than the June rain

letting go unspoken words

absorbed by those flowering tree roots.

(adaptation: Zaj DE MEESTER)

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.