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Poetry by Fatin Hamamah

Right: Fatim and Pamela Hardy at a
poetry reading in Byron Bay.

"The Thorny Rose"

One day
my lover
the prince
came running

bearing a beautiful rose
in his hand
shyly I told him
of my delight

he asked me:
"why do you like this rose?"

I told him:
"because the rose has thorns"

he looked at me
carefully, but understood
nothing

since then
I have never seen him
again.

December 2000

"Mawar Berduri"

Ketika suatu hari
pangeran
kekasihku itu
datang berlari-lari

di tangannya
bunga mawar indah sekali
dengan malu-malu
aku katakan
aku amat menyukai

dia bertanya
"kenapa kau menyukai mawar ini ?"

aku jawab
"karena mawar berduri"

mata pangeran
menyelidiki
jelas dia tak mengerti

sejak itu pangeran
tak pernah datang lagi

Jkt, Des 2000

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"Lakemba" It felt like a dream I was led back To my long lost childhood At an evening meal As, in the first bowl of soup, I saw the face of the moon The full moon In Padang Panjang When did we last meet Dear friend We seperated a long time ago Without sorrow As if forever And now We meet in another country and time As if no time has past at all And we are innocent children again I remember the moon in Padang Panjang And the cold wind from Mount Surungan The morning mist passes across my mind Oh How quickly time passes Your child cries And my dreams scatter The wind blows through my loneliness A leaf falls And is carried away by the wind The night is very still I saw the morning fading In a bowl of soup. Lakemba 2001

"Lakemba" Seperti mimpi Aku di tuntun pada jalan pulang Pada masa kanak kanak yang hilang Di jamuan makan malam Pada mangkok soup hidangan pertama Kutemukan wajah bulan Dan purnama yang penuh Di Padang Panjang Berapa lama kita tak bertemu kawan Sekian masa Kita perpisah tanpa kabar dan berita Dan kini Pada lain benua dan masa kita bersua Serasa tak pernah kulalui waktu Aku dan kau menjelma Jadi kanak kanak lugu Kubayangkan wajah bulan di Padang Panjang Dan angin dingin Bukit Surungan Kabut pagi yang melintas dalam ingatan Duh Betapa masa cepat berlari Tangis anak mu Membuyarkan lamunan Kiranya kita tak muda lagi Angin bertiup dalam sepi Sehelai daun gugur Melayang layang di bawa angin Malam mulai sepi Dalam mangkok soup kulihat pagi berlari Sydney, 2001

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Malin Kundang*" Malin I have scattered flowers at your feet For each step you have taken I have prayed each night That you may always be safe Malin When the moon was full And the soft blew I longed for you Malin When you returned home I wanted to hear everything The stories of your travels A young man in the world Malin I mind being alone Alone by myself Waiting for my dear son I didn't want to die before I saw you come home again Malin You have changed You refused to call me your mother How can I hide my sorrow The sky itself knows Whose son you are Malin You to despise your mother My curse has destroyed you The world was unwilling But the storm carried you away Flung you on the beach You wept but it was too late My curse has turned you to stone We could not stop it Malin My heart grieves in its pain My tears turn to rock Cairo, 2002 Based on a West Sumatran legend, of a son who travelled abroad and despised his mother when he returned. Her curse turned him to stone.

"Malin kundang" Malin Ku tanamkan dikakimu doa Untuk setiap langkah yang kau ayunkan Kubacakan sitawa setiap malam untuk damai kau dalam perjalan Malin Jika purnama dan angin bertiup pelan Kusampaikan pada bulan rindu tak tertahankan Malin jika kelak kau datang Betapa banyak yang ingin aku dengarkan Cerita perjalan Bangai mana bujang dalam perantauan Malin Kubiarkan sepi Sunyi dan sendiri Menunggumu sibuah hati Tak ingin kumati Sebelum kuliat Kau datang dan kembali Malin Jika kini kau berobah hati Tak mengakui aku ibu lagi Bagaimana mungkin kusurukkan duka Langit pun tau Kau anak siapa Malin jika kini datang petaka Sungguh aku tak mau kau jadi anak durhaka Tapi alam tak rela Diamuknya kau dalam badai Dihempaskan kepantai Kau menangis berairmata Tapi kutuk ku telah tiba Sesal tak berguna Malin Jantungku perih menyimpam ngilu Air mataku berbuah batu.

Email Fatin : papyrus_15@hotmail.com
Translations by Prof Harry Aveling