I promised to write this post in Indonesian but I figured I'd suck at doing that... So in return, here's an "Indonesian poem" that I tried to write along with another lovely drawing by tumblr user atalienart.

Aku hanya berharap Tuhan akan menjagamu untukku. Jadi ketika kamu pergi, janganlah terlalu lama. Karena; aku takut kehilangan banyak dari dirimu, aku takut mencarimu dan tidak menemukkanmu secepat mungkin, dan aku takut aku akan melupakan perasaan ini lagi

About a couple of months ago, I followed this account on Line called "Kumpulan Puisi" ("Collection of Poems") that I have religiously tried to understand. And as a result, I was mildly intrigued to continue these literatures expressed in short Indonesian writings. So when I met my good friend Jordan on Friday and read the books he bought in the nearby bookstore, I felt this sudden urge to have one copy myself. And that is what I exactly did.

I bought the book "Tidak Ada New York Hari Ini" by M. Aan Mansyur and impatiently finished reading all of the poem-ed pages within a day. Of course, it didn't take much to finish a thin book full of photographs and short poems, so that's not a very impressing achievement. Sadly, though I have finished reading the book, I still haven't fully understood the true meaning behind each poems. 

"Aku gak ngerti yang itu."

"Coba dimengerti dong."

"Iya tapi sulit untuk dimengerti..."

As quoted from an old friend, the Indonesian language is far too simple to be put into literature that its literature then becomes complex. Hence, people like me who has a lack of understanding upon the Indonesian language will find Indonesian literature a bit strange. But to say the least, Indonesian literature is still equally charming as English literature. The language itself carries a personal charisma that could only be noticed when you read them slowly and respectfully. 

When you find yourself immersing into small but meaningful Indonesian poems, you'll find their poetry even more alluring. Especially when they're transformed into songs, like this one called "Yang Patah Tumbuh yang Hilang Berganti" by Banda Neira that my friend Tila showed me the other day. You can listen to it if you'd like, but do make yourself comfortable beforehand. Because this song demands you to make an effort to understand "the art" of it.

The first legitimate time I listened to it was this morning in my friend's room. The air conditioning was so cold that I had to sit by the window and open it to find a little bit of warmth from the sunshine. Unintentionally, I found an almost perfect way to listen to that song. And that is when I quickly informed Tila how nice the song was, and when I found out he'd played the song yesterday and that I was just oblivious. Hence, my theory of the song.

If you had decided to listen to it, try reading a poem whilst you're doing so. Here, I'll show you one of my favourite poems from the book so far:

"Pukul 4 pagi

Tidak ada yang bisa diajak berbincang. Dari jendela kau lihat bintang-bintang sudah lama tanggal. Lampu-lampu kota bagai kalimat selamat tinggal. Kau rasakan seseorang di kejauhan menggeliat dalam dirimu. Kau berdoa: semoga kesedihan memperlakukan matanya dengan baik.

Kadang-kadang, kau pikir, lebih mudah mencintai semua orang daripada melupakan satu orang. Jika ada seorang terlanjur menyentuh inti jantungmu, mereka yang datang kemudian hanya akan menemukan kemungkinan-kemungkinan.

Dirimu tidak pernah utuh. Sementara kesunyian adalah buah yang menolak dikupas. Jika kau coba melepas kulitnya, hanya akan kau temukan kesunyian yang lebih besar.

Pukul 4 pagi. Kau butuh kopi segelas lagi."

I hope to see you soon.

Love always,

Zahra Thania.