INVICTUS

I am master of my fate, I am captain of my soul (from a poem by William Ernest Hendley)
There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul ( quote by Ella Wheeler Wilcox)

Sunday, 9 August 2020

Puding Kuning Menyala

 In my early teens I used to write Malay poems every now and then. I adore Malay poems actually and I wrote them as a mean to out-pour my feelings. Young adulthood is frayed with challenges for me anyway. As I get older I tend to disregard this penchant for poems. At that time I was very keenly putting effort to better my English and also putting a lot of effort in Science and Mathematics as the stress on students was at that time. Somehow that interest in writing Malay poems was put in the very back burner and not at all being given any attention even as a pastime.

So today, after a hiatus of maybe fifty years, I wrote one. This one is mainly in Malay but has some English too!



Puding Kuning Menyala

Tanamanku hidup megah

berdiri gagah menyerlah

semakin dibawah matahari tinggi semakin warna berseri

tidak ada takutkan panas terik, tidak ngeri silau merbahaya.


Selagi kau ku jaga seadanya

sedikit air sedikit baja

kau kuning menyala 

hanya dengan menjadi dirimu

pokok biasa saja bukan pokok istimewa 

kau serikan hatiku yang kadangkala duka

yang kadangkala ada lautan kemurungan maha dalam

yang mahu melemaskan aku.


Puding kuning menyala

dengan kata tidak bersuara 

kau ungkapkan ayat-ayat yang terus dapat ku baca

"dalam rencana alam semesta yang teragung 

 setiap hidupan punya bahagian dan fungsinya

 aku dan kau nampak jauh berbeza 

 ada kalanya sering memerlukan satu sama lain

 ada kalanya aku berikan kau sedikit kegembiraan mutlak

 dengan cemerlang kuning warnaku dan terperinci urat-urat daunku

 mempesona kau dan terlupa kau akan dukamu

 ku hembus bara kecil kegembiraanmu yang dulu sering sejuk dan mati

 sebagai batu loncatan untuk kau lebih memahami 

 siapa kita semua di alam semesta ini"

 

My dear yellow Croton

in the grand scheme of things

every life and even every non-living things too

in this absolutely living, breathing Universe

is actually totally united and totally one!


I have things to learn still

I have roads to explore some more 

thank you for your wisdom and your comradeship!


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