Poem
Sapardi Djoko Damono
IMAGINE IF
Imagine if what you see in the mirror this morningis not your face but the bird that flies in the cloud-spattered
sky, scattering the wind through its feathers;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is not your face but the cloud that watches the bird as it
plunges into our city and flaps the factory smoke from its
feathers;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is not your face but the rambutan tree in your courtyard
that lures the bird to perch on its shoulders;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is your own old face that remains unchanged even though
you keep on peeling it fiercely layer by layer each and every day.
© Translation: 2009, Hasif Amini and Sapardi Djoko Damono
Bayangkan Seandainya
Bayangkan Seandainya
Bayangkan seandainya yang kaulihat di cermin pagi inibukan wajahmu tetapi burung yang terbang di langit yang sedikit
berawan, yang menabur-naburkan angin di sela bulu-bulunya;
bayangkan seandainya yang kaulihat di cermin pagi ini
bukan wajahmu tetapi awan yang menyaksikan burung itu
menukik ke atas kota kita dan mengibas-ibaskan asap pabrik dari
bulu-bulunya;
bayangkan seandainya yang kaulihat di cermin pagi ini
bukan wajahmu tetapi pohon rambutan di halaman rumahmu
yang menggoda burung itu untuk hinggap di lengannya;
bayangkan seandainya yang kaulihat di cermin pagi ini
wajahmu sendiri yang itu juga, yang tak kunjung habis meski
telah kaukupas dengan ganas selembar demi selembar setiap hari.
© 2009, Sapardi Djoko Damono
From: Kolam
Publisher: Editum, Jakarta
From: Kolam
Publisher: Editum, Jakarta
Poems
Poems of Sapardi Djoko Damono
Close
IMAGINE IF
Imagine if what you see in the mirror this morningis not your face but the bird that flies in the cloud-spattered
sky, scattering the wind through its feathers;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is not your face but the cloud that watches the bird as it
plunges into our city and flaps the factory smoke from its
feathers;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is not your face but the rambutan tree in your courtyard
that lures the bird to perch on its shoulders;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is your own old face that remains unchanged even though
you keep on peeling it fiercely layer by layer each and every day.
© 2009, Hasif Amini and Sapardi Djoko Damono
From: Kolam
From: Kolam
IMAGINE IF
Imagine if what you see in the mirror this morningis not your face but the bird that flies in the cloud-spattered
sky, scattering the wind through its feathers;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is not your face but the cloud that watches the bird as it
plunges into our city and flaps the factory smoke from its
feathers;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is not your face but the rambutan tree in your courtyard
that lures the bird to perch on its shoulders;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is your own old face that remains unchanged even though
you keep on peeling it fiercely layer by layer each and every day.
© 2009, Hasif Amini and Sapardi Djoko Damono
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