Malleable and other poems
by Agung Setaiwan
Translated from Indonesian into English by Sebastian Partogi
Lempeng
Pada setiap lantai samudra yang tersingkap,
Kita adalah penyelam - penyelam yang berjalan di pegunungan
Pada setiap lautan yang turun dari gunung yang terangkat,
Kita masih harus terus bergerak, menerobos dalam dingin
Beku mengeras berkerak, kembalinya apa yang retak
Tanpa ragu kini api jadi batu, kembali menyatu
Malleable
In each ocean floor that is revealed,
We are divers, crossing the mountains
In each ocean that falls upon ascending mountain,
We remain in motion, breaking through the cold
Freezing, hardening, crystallising, a return to what has shattered
Without hesitation, now fire becomes stone, now we are unified
Teruntuk yang Terbit
Ayo pulang
Cepat mendaku kembali
Dari sekian dunia
Berlapis dan terkelupas
Selalu ada makna
Tergeletak begitu saja
Di sini sekarang ini.
Dari yang terbenam
To those who rise
Let’s come home
Quickly, let me claim you once more
From these countless worlds
Layered and chipped away
There is always meaning
Lying, sprawling
Here, now.
From those who set
Tertara
Dari sana, di sebuah pulau, tak jauh
Aku menatap, tak menetap, dari dekat
Indanya, tiada tara, begitu kentara
Di tubuh ini kita setara
Beyond Compare
From there, in an island, not distant
I observed, without staying, with closeness
How beautiful, beyond compare, so clear
Within this body, we are equal
Agung Setiawan works as a philosophy lecturer. Beside writing research and poems, Agung has also written, directed, and acted in several indie short films and community theaters' plays. His poetry collection, Menyelamimu was published in Comma Books/KPG.
Thank you to Sebastian Partogi for translating Agung’s poety.