Masa merusuh lari
Usia pantas memburu
Sesal membungkam hati
Jiwa terluruh kelu
Apa erti gah dan harta?
Apa makna wang dan kuasa?
Hanya dedaunan kering di ranting usia
Datang Izrail, terasing hampa.
#668 On Amorim’s Travails
He rides where broken banners fly,
And weary boots tread shadows deep.
With iron will and longing sigh,
He wakes the dreams they vowed to keep.
#667 On Little Minds
She frowned, then eyes a-widened
And whispered loudly this:
“I have to ask the husband, right?”
A child’s mind - ah, what bliss!
She begged with charm implicit
Implored with heart o’erwrought
“You’ll come today to visit, right?”
Her pleading came to naught.
#666 On the Number of the Beast
Upon his brow the mark is fixed,
In shadowed script—dark digits six.
Where angels weep, his whispers feast,
An omen for the curséd beast.
#665 Tentang Pemberontakan Sang Pengemis
Patahkan saja tulang-tulang kami
Biar riuk biar berlekuk
Injak-injakkan tubuh lumat kami
Hingga jadi debu berhabuk
Ternyata semua ini tidak cukup
Buat tuan-tuan sekalian
Dan kami enggan mahu hidup
Kalau harus terus melutut berhingusan
Padamkan sengih jelingan sinis
Simpan saja cemeti bengis
Kami enggan terus mengemis.
#664 On Your People
Maya Angelou said:
Bring your people with you.
Think of the people who are no longer with you
The people who loved you
The people who supported you
The people who were kind to you
Carry the spirit of those people on your shoulders
And when you walk into that room
Know that the people you bring with you
Are your sword and your shield and your armour
Let the memory of their kindness and their love
Be the cooling shade amidst the scorching sun of blistering hostility
Be the warm companion amidst the withering spite of cruel indifference
Be they a throng or the several few
What counts the most is how they loved
The one and only You they knew.
#663 Tentang Lambaian Ramadan
Malam ini lambaian akhir
Usai sudah bulan Ramadan
Jiwa raga batin dan zahir
Ucap shukur pada ar-Rahman!
#662 On This Unwinnable Charade
You can keep playing
This unwinnable charade;
I have had enough.
#661 Tentang Kebebasan Seorang Anak
Aku tak lagi
Perlu menunduk akur -
Bebas berlari!
#660 Tentang Kalimah Yang Merawat Lelah
Lafaz kalimah
Bersukun dan qalqalah
… Merawat lelah.