kami yang kekal

(after Usman Awang’s Kambing Hitam and GE15)

Sook Jin Ong

tertulis dan terujar perasaan sebelum our ballots bloom
lima belas kepeluangan pakcik penjual, puan pencerita, pelajar-pelajar
with a finger inked intimately, we made a mark on each other.
rahsia dikunci di dalam peti, kami mencorakkan masa depan,
berjemaah di kelas, dewan, stadium, dan surau.
apakah utusan yang disebarkan di gerai makan?
undi bagai wang. wang bagai geran. geran bagai kabus.
the haze shrouding buyers in palaces, sellers parading promises. we witness you trade our lives.
lelong, lelong, janganlah kau dilelong. we witness you.
hitamnya hati. pilunya dada. seriknya mata. we witness you.
i turn to the muddy roads leading to my kampung. pulanglah, saudara-saudari.
our baju newly pressed as if it is kongsi raya. we can celebrate, can’t we?
di sini, di sana, we will not let you take away the steps we made, our footprints in the soil, indelible.
di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung,
di sini berteduh, bersama, beriuh, menenung.