Category: Poetic

Blessing is a swan
Walking, swimming and flying
Around garden lake.

—

when I was a girl, I wanted to be a flight attendant traveling around; thanks God I don’t deserve to be so I can be a passenger traveling to accompany them 🥰

Prancing in A Tunnel

A line of this heart remembers
What’s not even in memories.
Flowing clean river hidden in the sky—
The other line of this heart remembers
Only what’s imprinted through relations.
Murky pool standing around the earth—

Don’t have the right to be missed
With these limited memories.
This sky is hidden by the cloud—
Don’t have the right to be remembered
With absence of relations.
This earth is full of locked doors.

Can only miss what’s not imprinted.
Can only remember what’s hidden.
Still beautiful
Still amazing
Yet hidden
Yet secretive
Circled around between hearts
That read what’s not inky written.

There’s an end
To a dream.
It’s when coming true
Or coming dead.
And that’s the light at the end of a tunnel
Of light
Of wide spectrum
In which we’re prancing.

Choose your colour.

—

you don’t remember me, I do; you don’t see me, I do; you don’t hear me, I do; you don’t smell me, I do; you don’t taste me, I do; you don’t touch me, I do — when you close the door, I stay yet I’m blocked from you 💗

Too Good To Be True

Too good to be true,
Yet too long to be untrue;
A dangling long dream—

—

this song is an ever green for a love that is beyond reach 🥰

my sister introduced Frank Sinatra to me through this song; I love you Mbak Yuda, you’re a best sister

strong message from Banksy; thank you, Banksy!

Walk Back Not

There’s only one way to leave a forest: its edge. Throw away the doubt.

—

life is too precious to play complicated games; take away unknown factors from the equation and find a home 🥰

Yogyakarta, a place I dream of being a home when all these muscles give up the hardship – maybe yes maybe no, my bothers said; I said again “at least I know it is now my home”

Cold Breeze

Cold breeze blows softly
On weekends, and  on the leaves
Rustling about me.

—

welcome another weekend 💝

Almost

There is a moment
Called almost. It’s smile or sigh
Unexpectedly—

—

Picture borrowed from a good reading: http://thegctv.com/the-power-of-almost/

What Is Money

Not answered questions:
Those to be pinned with meanings
By them questioning—

—

Surabaya did sum up my medium-length end-of-year holiday of mine. Hosted by one best friend, this 32-hour visit meant much to me: a lot of chat and enough food.

With this best friend open discussion is a routine. Last night’s discussion while driving around the city was everything about money. We both treat money differently. She is a better financial planner, I am a learner.

We used to be curious about what money truly was. Money discussion had always been a hot topic before and last night we both finally agreed that money can be defined as anything according to the one managing it.

We know different types of friends and their behaviour towards money. There are friends who meticulously count money (stingy), friends who think money is a symbol of welfare (social status), friends who consider money is everything (arrogant), friends who consider money is treasure (stupid), friends who consider money is nothing (careless), friends who don’t believe that money is a thing (maybe almost dead), friends who have little money (poor), friends who constantly borrow money (lazy). Complete experience. 🙂

What is money to us? We both don’t have special place for money at the same time we have special space for money. It is a tool. It is the replaceable at times, the irreplaceable at others. It is what it is with given context. We both agree that a question of “what is money” doesn’t need an accurate answer; it just needs honest response. Answer is too rigid and feels like a reaction; response is more flexible and almost a wisdom. Example? If having money makes us think we are more respectable than others, that is an accurate answer. If having no money makes us think we are less than others, that is an accurate answer. If having money makes us more functional as human beings in some situation, that is an honest response. If having no money makes us less complaining and harder working, that is an honest response.

We both don’t expect to be in forever comfort by having so much money yet don’t want to live uncomfortably because of having not enough money. We simply want to have sufficient amount as what is needed in life.

This visit puts me back on track that “life is just like that” at the same time “life is worth fighting for and beautifully living” with good will and a small touch of power from money.

Before driving me to the airport, she commented on my eyes.

BF: Have you put eyeliner?

Me: No

BF: Told you to always put eyeliner. You have one?

Me: Ya

BF: What colour?

Me: Brown

BF: No, no. Try blue.

Me: (frown on my forehead). I don’t have blue one.

BF: Try this. (handing a blue eyeliner to me)

Me: (reluctantly putting blue eyeliner on both eyes)

BF: Look at that! Brighter eyes! Ok, take it. Wear blue eyeliner more.

Me: Ok, as long as not green that turns me to a green-eyed. How much is it?

BF: I am not selling it to you. A tiny token of friendship. Not everything should be paid with money. Thanks for the birthday gift, too.

Thank you. Happy birthday, Madam Scorpio.

See you again.

Salaam.

Manusia

Learning, life, Poetic, This Person

Manusia mengembarai langit
Manusia menyusuri cakrawala
Tidak untuk menguasainya
Melainkan untuk menguji dirinya
Apakah dia bertahan menjadi manusia,
Tidak untuk hebat kuasa atau perkasa
Melainkan untuk setia sebagai manusia.

(Emha Ainun Nadjib)

—

Good morning, Surabaya. You did a lot of moulding to this human being. Thank you!!! 💝

thank you 💝 for making me a human being; I won’t give up moulding this self to be loyal to being humane

Visit

Learning, life, Map It!, Poetic

Garden of the death
Where pray and wish are whispered
To eternity—

—

gate to the bathing pool for women; women should at least take ablution before entering the graveyard complex

gate to the graveyard complex of kings of Mataram; visitor can only enter this enclosure by wearing Javanese apparel: *kemben* for female and *surjan* for male

as I didn’t want to wear *kemben*, I preferred not entering the graveyard complex and decided to take some pics (with my bag) under a tropical fruit tree called *kepel* aka *Stelechocarpus burahol*

Friendship

Learning, life, Poetic, Those People

Hello, dear friendship.
This ship is sailing smoothly,
Storms don’t ruin our cruise.

—

Four are (fake) backpackers. One is (true) camper. We all sail together in a ship called friendship.

Alfatihah.

💝

a visit to a best friend’s youth center, this woman dedicates her life to accompany those needing support; the main house is for the classes, sitting room and kitchen; the front is a *pendhopo* for bigger discussion group plus tiny *senthong* for library

a visit to a best friend, a Javanese dancer cum lecturer, the wife of a late most well-known puppeteer in the country and the mother of a most sought-after teenage puppeteer in the island 💝 god bless her and family 💗 dear photographer, why do you always block me in group selfie? 🙃

Yuki after playing with my dress 😍 hey, you’ll meet a vet , you’d better watch out 😁

A Home before A Home

Learning, Map It!, Poetic

Wondered about home.
Has wandered finding a home.
She’s learnt she’s a home.

—

Feel good is feel home wherever she is.

not bored (yet) with this place, d’Omah is my *omah* before my *omah* is fully ready for weekend getaway

Mbah Petruk, you’re not supposed to be in my bathroom – ladies only 😆

Flowers for The Dead

Red rose on white tomb:
Greeting to another world
That sees but says not—

—

Nyekar is one tradition that many Javanese still keep until today. Nyekarcomes from the word sekar that means flower. Nyekar is sprinkling flowers on to someone’s tomb as part of a prayer to the loved ones lying under the tomb.

Javanese pin a meaning to the word and activity of nyekar by relating it with the flowers’ fragrance, colours and shapes. The fragrance and beauty of the flowers sprinkled on to the tomb are sent as supplementary to the prayer whispered by those “visiting the dead”. At the same time it is to remind the living that it should be the good deed and memories of the dead to be cherished; bad memories and bad deed should be neutralised through forgiveness — not easy but doable.

Aside from flowers Javanese add boreh as part of the flowers sprinkled. Boreh literally means to spread or to smear cream or paste on to skin. Borehis mixture of ground dlingo (Acorus calamus L) and bengkle or bengle or bangle (Zingiber cassumunar). Dlingo has a kerata basa (acronym) of elingothat means to remember. Bengkle has a kerata basa of becik kelakuane that means good deed. In short, boreh is added to the flowers to emphasize the importance of remembering the good deed of the dead they visit.

What a beautiful visit is made to the dead by those Javanese who understand what they sprinkle on to the tomb of their loved ones.

So, no it is not just beautiful flowers or flowers arrangement; more than that, it is the beautiful meaning that Javanese pinned to the flowers.

Salaam.

the best remembrance is remembrance to the death – I picked one rose from my sister’s garden and put it on my father’s tomb; we don’t miss him as his good deed is always with us

Mother’s Story

Learning, life, Poetic, Those People

Tragic is comic
After fermentation time.
Dark jokes bring bright joy.

—

We always remember how our father loved our mother. He liked giving gifts to her and doing household chores like cleaning the floor and doing heavy laundry. Yet he also enjoyed teasing my mother around; his goal was to make her angry just to show that he was good at calming her down. 😂 Yet his strong affection to our mother did one extreme discomfort to her and some of us.

This morning my older siblings asked mother to re-tell a story that we the younger don’t record well as we were too young to save the moment. While they laughed before she started telling the story, we three waited curiously.

Mother: Once I went with my friend to a beauty parlour. She wanted to have her hair cut.

Younger children: With whom?

Mother: (mentioning a name that we are familiar with)

All children: (commenting about mother’s friend who happened to be a very fashionable woman at that time)

Mother: She said that I should have my hair made curly or at least wavy so I could look different. I said no because I should get permission from your father. But you know her, she was able to convince me to do it.

All children: (laughing and commenting about the lady who spent money like she would die today. Mother said that woman got much money from ex husbands so she deserved to do it.) So, curled or waved?

Mother: Medium curled

Older children: (laughing and commenting how she looked fresh but weird as we had never had anyone with curly hair in the family before)

Mother: When I reached home, your father seeing me with curly hair looked surprised. I thought it would be a terrific moment but then it changed to one terrible day. He was so angry, never before he became that angry.

Older children: Ya, I was shocked. Never saw him like that before—

Mother: I was not shocked with his reaction but the next action of his was a biggest discomfort in my life. He said he wanted to make the hair look better which I thought minor trimming and he took a pair of scissors.

Older children: I didn’t expect that to happen. He cut most of the curly hair and only left the one with very vague curls near the headskin. You were almost bald! (laughing) You became so not you.

Me: (upset) Why did’t you run to hide and protect your hair?

Older children: Hey! Don’t be too serious. He didn’t hurt her.

Me: But he hurt her pride! I won’t let my hair be screwed up by anyone.

Older children: I remember mother sobbed and I screamed to father to stop. He didn’t do it harshly, but I felt worried about her sobbing.

Me: Damn wrong thing! I never knew he would have this in the checklist.

Mother: No worry. He regretted and apologized on the same day. And trust me it was the only one bad thing he did to me. He said he didn’t want me to draw attention of other men.

Older children: Jeeeaaaalousy! We know some other things about his jealousy! You should tell more stories.

Mother: I think it was the best lesson for him about how he should not be too possessive.

All children: Yaaa!!! Agree!

Older children: Do you remember that you turned to be a better fashionista than her. I remember you wore turban and sometimes wigs.

Mother: Yes. And I guess he regretted it even more as I asked for different wigs and turbans until my hair was good enough to show.

What a comedy! Oops! What a tragedy turning to comedy after some time!

Lesson learnt: choose the best expression of love to avoid bad impression, don’t have your hair curled 😁, find a husband who doesn’t hate curly hair 😁, forgive your husband’s wrong expression while educating him, and see a comedy in a tragedy

Romance

Romantic dim light
Sums up through numbers and codes,
Closes down a hope.

—

I wish you happiness. 💝

Good Chat

Learning, life, love, Poetic

Good chirp of two birds
Fill the air with random songs
Above golden trees.

—

Time flies when we spend it with those we love. How would I not thank this life for giving me abundance of them? Good to have a holiday at home before spending more holidays outdoor faraway from them after this. 💝

I am blessed. 💝

installation art of two golden birds – good time is a chat of two sisters remembering the sweet and the shit 😊

Be A Dog

Bob, Learning, Poetic

Excitement rises.
A dog runs after food bag
Full of dental sticks.

—

If you don’t feel good, walk a dog and run with it when it runs for food. You’ll feel a real excitement. Trust me.

Wishing to feel good every single second like a happy dog. 😁 Prepare good saving of energy!

😁 Vietnam dog is exactly the same as other dogs: toys, food and other dogs

A Cycle

About a nation
That’s almost collapsed and dead.
Life has a cycle.

—

Holiday is always a time to have a small discussion about trivial facts that grows to a more serious discussion about bigger things like a damaged bridge topic growing to a discussion about a nation that starts to collapse slowly and surely.

Nothing is forever. Even if you think you are better, smarter, swifter and richer; it will end either with your fall or your death whichever comes first. How cruel! No, that’s just a cycle.

a damaged bridge (a hot yet stupid discussion on the train from Jakarta to Yogyakarta) – I love stupidity 😁

Ripple of Sweetness

Small ripple can move a lake. Enough to show gentle beauty. My heart sweetly hums with the wind.

—

your vague signs move my heart, not strong enough though to move my head 💝

My World

My world lies within
Wrapped by the senses without.
A hidden heaven—

—

a window nook, where a book turns into a world 🌥️

Tall Tree

There is a tall tree
Greeting the sky with its green,
The earth with its white.

—

There is only one choice left: grow! What’s grown within affects what’s grown without and the other way around — all in unison. Liking it or not, I grow as the sole way.

when feet are happily walking, eyes are happily observing 🥰

The Right

What’s right be left not,
Goes along with decent life.
What’s not right? Lesson.

—

what if these beautiful fungi grow on human’s skin? just not right!

Levelled

Learning, life, Map It!, Poetic

Terraced hilly fields
Build levels, reduce runoff.
Beautifully strong—

—

vegetable levelled terraces ready for next planting

the white lines hanging are pipelines traditionally built to transport spring water from mountain to the vegetable plantation

Good Age

Learning, life, Poetic, This Person, Those People

How good is friendship?
As good as age of a friend
Whose food transforms taste.

—

***cakwe***, elementary school snack served in style

***onde-onde,*** never getting bored of it 💝

six of “avengers” but only three were available this time – when we were young, we counted the price tags; now we count the limits and portions of cholesterol, sugar, salt, red meat, blah blah blah while saying “aaah this one is good!” 😁

Good Roots

Learning, life, Map It!, Poetic, Those People

Good roots are strong roots
Supporting those on the soil.
They won’t be betrayed.

—

This trip is incredibly beautiful. Meeting best friends is more than anything. We talk. We laugh. We eat. We visit places. We engage with people.

One of my best friends who will be my neighbour in my humble abode is one of best human beings I’ve ever known. She lives to humbly serve humanity. She dedicates her life to help the underprivileged. She is so patient about what others do to her and always in understanding mode. She is so passionate in doing what she is doing to help others.

Among all her non profit projects that are my favourite is opening library in a small village that is functioning as youth center at the same time and supporting buruh gendong (traditional female labours who are paid to carry things either by sellers or buyers in Yogyakarta traditional markets, most of them are senior) in some traditional markets in Yogyakarta. If time allows me to live as long as I wish, our agreement is I will teach free classes of English, Japanese, leadership and management system in her youth center, while occasionally going with her from one market to another to greet the buruh gendong. Yet as an artist she is also teaching (mostly) women on how to make artistic products for sale to support themselves financially.

In this trip we discuss a lot about what we should do to ourselves and others but we can’t because of immovable blockages. We also talk about how we can feel good no matter bad a situation is. We talk about what will happen if the youth are not aware of what lies in their future at the same time we concern about how children around us get mature faster than we did before. And all always last long although with only a glass of tea, a cup of Javanese coffee and some pieces of local snack.

Life is too precious to focus on what doesn’t serve us good anymore. Life is too short to lament of any loss that is truly never loss. Life is too grand to just be sad of how that that we love disrespects us. Life is just too beautiful to consider what is not real.

So thankful for how real my best friends are in helping others. So thankful to be part of their spirit. So thankful that we are ordinary people in this grand life. So thankful that we are a grain of sand in the vast shore. So thankful that we accept who we are. So thankful that we are strong roots for each other.

Thank you, dear friend. It is good to always have a question “so what is our plan and action?” 💝

Alfatihah.

two women and clay jars – RC Gorman’s work of art

Good Day

Learning, Map It!, Poetic

What will you do on one bright day? Anything but feel no good.

—

seating arranged by a rice field in Yogyakarta – a place where people become human being, transaction tones down to neighbourhood, ordinary feels extraordinary

Jakarta

Learning, Map It!, Poetic

Always love this city
Where work is in moving cars,
Finished in toll gates.

—

What is Jakarta about? Heavy traffic? Better in some way. Flood? Better in some way. People? Always happy, optimistic and witty no matter what!

Nothing beats feel home. 💝

a city isn’t about its minuses 😎 (Jl Sudirman, Jakarta)…. – traffic jam should be one tool to shape patience 🥹

…. but also about how leaders manage it through wrong and right decisions and policies and also about the people who are willing to be led by different leaders from different backgrounds with different interest and partiality 🙏🏼 (Bundaran HI, Jakarta) – traditional food finds its heaven in “car free day” on Sundays in this spot 💝

Reflection of Beauty

Ripples break the face
On the lake. Beauty remains
In the lover’s heart.

—

A teacher asked whether there could be two Layla for one Majnun.

Everyone in the class knew the answer. There is only one Layla for one Majnun. That Majnun and that Layla—

Salaam.

The Story of Layla and Majnun: The Idealization of Love

a good reading for those not familiar with this old story

Root Stays