I ask the win, I ask the tree

Below poetry was written by a noted poet, our friend named SITOK SRENGENGE, having long hair at the time, sharp looking eyes, as if he reincarnates of a great poet from the legendary kingdom of Majapahit in Java, Indonesia of early tenth centuries but living in this challenging global economic liberalization era of early twentieth century. Men and women (but more female, then), young and old, like to chase him for his charm and wit in word diction usage that he continuously digs all his life.

The win, the trees, the bees, bats, rivers, valleys, the earth, the seas would help you answering your own questions and troubles. It is what he likely tries to tell us in this poem. But it is not the answers that he offers. He invites us to ask, to ask and ask again. Are you just more doing and taking quick actions, and thereby forgetting to ask again and before anything you do, because you feel you have got the very correct answers? Are you really convinced that your answers really relate and correspond to your questions?


Aku bertanya pada angin darimana datangnya angan

Penggal puisi ini lahir dari seorang kawan penyair kita yang ternama, SITOK SRENGENGE, berambut panjang, berparas tajam, seakan pujangga datang dari zaman Majapahit tapi hidup di zaman tantangan global. Laki-laki dan perempuan (tapi lebih banyak perempuan) suka mengejarnya karena pesona diksi kata yang terus digali dalam dirinya.

Angin, pohon, lebah, kelelawar, sungai, lembah, bumi, laut membantu Anda menjawab pertanyaan Anda. Barangkali itu yang dikatakannya. Tapi bukan jawab yang dicari kawan penyair ini. Tapi pertanyaan berikutnya dan pertanyaan berikutnya. Ia mengajak kita bertanya, bertanya, bertanya. Adakah kita banyak berbuat dan bertindak, lalu kita lupa bertanya karena merasa telah mendapat jawab-jawab tuntas? Adakah Anda yakin jawaban atas pertanyaan-pertanyaan Anda?


OSMOSIS OF ORIGIN

I ask the wind,
whence does reverie come,
the wind shakes the tips of leaves
and I see the trees paint the cycle of years

I ask the tree,
whence does time begin,
the tree opens its flower petals
and I see a bee alight down sucking honey

I ask the bee,
whence does the cell that begets my body originate,
the bee hums flying into a cave
and I see a bat shut its ears upon a stonewall

I ask the bat,
whence does sound emerge,
the bat flaps its wings up to the night sky
and I see dew glide down like a river

I ask the river,
whence does the source of milk flow,
the river shows off the mountain
and I see a valley shrouded in mist

I ask the valley,
whence does taboo,
the valley raises its shroud
and I see the naked earth swing in elegance

I ask the earth,
who does give birth to Mother,
the earth blushes, but I hear the sea answer,
"She witnesses upon fact, yet is incapable of utterance!"

I ask the sea,
who does contain her,
the sea roars, yet is drained
before fully breathing the Name

1995
(Translated by Hasif Amini)