Taufiq Ismail (3)

Coffee Spattering the Forest

translated by John H. McGlynn

Three million hectares
of newspaper pages
to be eaten by flames
This morning’s edition
four fingers long
two straight and even columns
unloaded from the back of a pick-up
Dawn at the printers
piled on the asphalt
put in order by the sellers
before the sun is risen
thrown into front yards
picked up by the servants
placed on the dining table
looked at in passing
while straightening one’s tie
with the wife, tidying her hair
and the children running around
a morning full of things to do
Marmelade on finger tips
and bread clutched in one hand
Crossing one’s arms
coffee spills on the reading matter
spattering three million hectares of newspaper
two immensely long columns
The fire dies, the forest smoulders

The damp newspaper is folded four times
placed in the woven hard-plastic basket
and thrown away
that very morning
at precisely thirty past seven.

1988

Kopi Menyiram Hutan

Tiga juta hektar
Halaman surat kabar
Telah dirayapi api
Terbit pagi ini
Panjang empat jari
Dua kolom tegaklurus
Dibongkar dari pik-ap
Subuh dari percetakan
Ditumpuk atas jalan
Dibereskan agen koran
Sebelum matahari dimunculkan
Dilempar ke pekarangan
Dipungut oleh pelayan
Ditaruh di meja makan
Ditengok secara sambilan
Dasi tengah diluruskan
Rambut isteri penataan
Empat anak bersliweran
Pagi penuh kesibukan
Selai di tangan
Roti dalam panggangan
Ketika tangan bersilangan
Kopi tumpah di bacaan
Menyiram tiga juta hektar koran
Dua kolom kepanjangan
Api padam menutup hutan
Koran basah dilipat empat
Keranjang plastik anyaman
Tempat dia dibuangkan
Tepat pagi itu
Jam setengah delapan.

1988

Waiting Is

translated by Harry Aveling

Waiting is loneliness
Waiting is poetry
Waiting is terror
Waiting is this:

A railway station
In a strange land
Night standing there
Your face and mine
Is it really happening like this?

Loneliness has black hair
Loneliness has white hair
Loneliness is a bench in a waiting room
And an old clock ticking above it

Loneliness never sleeps
Loneliness is a silent guest
Offering cigarettes

Loneliness wanders eternally
Is the roar of the city
Is the battlefield
Is death

A world of horror
Demands that you wait
Here are the tickets, an old suit-case
The journey seems never ending

Waiting is loneliness
Waiting is terror
Waiting is a riddle
Waiting is this.

1968

Menunggu Itu

Menunggu itu sepi
Menunggu itu puisi
Menunggu itu nyeri
Menunggu itu begini:

Sebuah setasiun kereta api
Di negeri sunyi
Malam yang berdiri di sini
Ada wajahmu dan wajahku
Benarkah jadi begini?

Rambutnya hitam sepi itu
Rambutnya putih sepi itu
Sunyi adalah sebuah bangku kamar tunggu
Dan jam tua, berdetik di atas itu

Sunyi itu tak pernah tidur
Sunyi itu tamu yang bisu
Menawarkan rokok padamu

Sunyi itu mengembara ke mana
Sunyi kota gemuruh
Sunyi padang penembakan
Sunyi tulang-belulang

Sebuah dunia yang ngeri
Menyuruh orang menanti
Ada karcis, ada kopor yang tua
Perjalanan seperti tak habisnya

Menunggu itu sepi
Menunggu itu nyeri
Menunggu itu teka-teki
Menunggu itu ini.

1968