Category: Poetic

When I feel helpless,
I will recite
Your loveliest verses
And send them as gifts
To those closest to my heart, whose life
Is a dedication to parents with
Love equivalent as what they received at childhood.

I am here, now
And lucky
So I shall share love
How subtle it has been.

Dear, Beloved.
Please accept my hollow heart for
You to fill with love,
And love only
How hard it has been.

i wish my ripples are of love and love only

Brewing Dream

Brewing dream, dear love
Is tea and water in kettle
And temperature.

tea leaf brewed with cinnamon this afternoon

chamomile tea brewed this morning

Slow & Steady

It' slow and steady,
Snails throw a party with me.
Everyone's happy.

look at how they party: slow and steady, they didn’t stop climbing up the plant but i didn’t see their movement but suddenly one was already up on one leaf — fascinating nature

Bloom Wherever You Are

This flower blooms
In a hottest day,
In a beautiful garden,
In a cold hallway.
It just blooms
No matter what.
Just bloom
And come what may.

my driver dropped me in the wrong gate yesterday and just drove away; he drives very well but doesn’t understand English (yes, he is a driver not a tour guide 😁) yet it was a blessing in disguise: i walked a bit and met these flowers on the way — beauty greets me everywhere when my heart is light

red roses in the hotel courtyard, tantalising colour

a pot of orchid, to the lift

Death

What's death, Beloved?
A gate to a new garden
Where new game's waiting.

Just last week I made a plan to apply for a new MacBook as mine is 5 years old, 2 years longer than the replacement timeline. This MacBook worked wonder but with the heavy work I wanted to make her retire and use a new one.

Most of my friends know I treat some machines in my life as human beings: I give them names, talk to them, touch them like they are my babies. Although technically I don’t take care or them well: I don’t clean the Mac keyboard regularly, I don’t pump Blue and Red’s tyres regularly, I don’t always dust my luggages before putting them back to the dust bags, etc.

Today my MacBook that I planned to replace with a new one went on strike. It didn’t turn on the whole day. Her turning off really turned me off. I did all steps to turn her on with no result. The host IT guy gave up. Everyone tried all things possible with no result. We did even one silly thing: sunbathing the Mac next to the window, nothing happened.

When time comes with death, no one can prolong any life.

Maybe a coincidence, today one of my cousins passed away. He was such a fun brother to all of us; a wise man who lived his life to the fullest. His nuclear family is lucky to have them, we extended family are, too. Happy journey, Mas❣️ You are blessed so no need to worry. See you again.

thank you for these tough years

A Big Wave

This pool is too calm
A dust can cause a big wave.
Chaotic minutes--

sometimes i behave too strongly at work and don’t want to bring the strength to my personal life

unlike in professional life, in personal life i don’t use complex strategies for my plan and goal, i just do things with kindness with a bit of control to protect myself from being cheated

life might be called chains of transaction but in personal life my trade is trade of kindness, i lend and give with kindness without expecting to be repaid — or else, i will not lend or give; i was cheated a lot but i learnt my lesson yet still the only strategy (if i am forced to admit that i am having strategy) is avoidance strategy — again in personal life

consequently i will feel scared or overwhelmed with someone (that i deal in personal life) showing or demonstrating emotion that i usually apply when negotiating at work: cold, no empathy, poker face, intimidating, arrogant, winning all games and the like

this early morning i experienced one and it affected my whole day — i felt like i wanted to curl; the only thing making me survive the day was that i was working and i needed to keep myself professionally composed

what a heavy day personally today, thanks God my colleagues and business counterparts didn’t pay much attention to my expression except one person asking “today you must be tired walking almost 4 hours, you look pale”

there must be a lesson i need to learn in my personal life

💗

Ripples

My love is ripples,
Humble and calm.
Maybe you want waves,
Pushing and high.
Should I turn these ripples
To waves?
Give me an ocean, not a lake.

ripples on a standing water as waves on the ocean; i might be in a wrong realm

💗

Fragrant

Fragrant, Beloved
Is you when I am breathing.
Do you deny it?

i’ve loved perfume since i was teenager

the range of fragrance i love is wide, i have no definition of what fragrance i prefer or not — i just like it or not like it after sniffing it

Size of Life

What size of life do I want?
Any size as long as
It is ordinary:
Where big is not too big,
Small is not too small,
It is just right.

I want an ordinary life
Where my closest know well enough
My love and kindness guards
Me against betrayal.

I want an ordinary life
Where the farthest know well enough
Their hatred and ignorance keeps
Them away from me.

I thank you, my ordinary life
You make blessings extraordinary.

today’s breakfast: a big bowl of konjac noodle soup with chicken breast + carrot + bonito flake, a medium bowl of fruit and a small bowl of rendang — all in the right size….

…. and chocolate, the ordinary that turns my life extraordinary

Vantage Points

Vantage points, dear self
Splitting visions to see things
Comprehensively.

problem solving sometimes best happens when i see things from different perspectives

My Best

My best, Beloved,
Is now here staying with me.
The self loved by me
Never leaves, never betrays.
Born, living, will die with me--

pho-bo for last night’s dinner with extra ngogai leaves is still the best

my host gave me pho-bo on hotpot — not the best, yet pho never fails me in Vietnam

chicken pho with extra ngogai leaves — good but pho is best with beef

The Star

Are you the star I point with my finger?
Or are you the one that disappears in a blink of my eye?
Are you the star that will reappear tomorrow night?
Or are you the one that smiles at me then ghosts away?

You are still a star.

which one are you?

Humble Beauty

Humble beauty, love
Is found anywhere with eyes
Naked, no glasses.

i saw this

and this

and this

and this

i feel love is just everywhere incl in the wild grass and ordinary tree around me

thank you

Beauty and Majesty

Learning, Poetic, This Person, Those People

Beauty, Majesty
Both in me--
I'm predictable,
I'm throwing surprises,
Both simply reflecting
One whole me.
If you don't want one side,
You won't either get the other.

yin-yang, duality in unity, union in separation, jamal and jalal of asmaul husna, beauty and majesty, masculine and feminine, etc; you name it — it is a perfection in an imperfect human being

what do you expect from a human being but two sides of a coin, beloved?

💗

Your Names

Can you hear my voice
Calling many names in pain?
They are all your names.
Take a sweet glance to this heart,
Can you see face that's not you?

Love, No Doubt

Love is a mountain.

Stands still?
It does but it moves too to balance the center of Mother Earth.
No doubt.

Gives much?
It does but it sweeps too to clean what does not belong to the era.
No doubt.

Saves water?
It does but it stops flowing water to respond to destroyed roots.
No doubt.

Does good?
It does but it harms too to protect the heart of life, love itself.
No doubt.

Embraces beauty?
It does but it embraces scars and wounds too to celebrate journey and age.
No doubt.

My love is a mountain.
No doubt.

Mount Merapi (also Candrageni), Yogyakarta – i so much miss home i cry

💗

All with Love

Life seems effortless
As it's flowing river
To the sea.
All with love--

all with love — today’s breakfast

Flying Dreams

I love my sweet dreams
Who have cheered me every nights
And then forgotten.
Dear dreams, travel find your home.
I'm here to see you smiling.

fly happily, let me enjoy my day, waiting for you to call me saying “i’m home”

This Heart

What twig, Beloved,
Gives this heart strength to hang in?
A twig full of love--

(from Pinterest)

Sunday

Sunday, Beloved
Repeats itself as a space
To explore for love.

misro = amis di jero (sweet inside, Sundanese language)

combro = oncom di jero (oncom inside, Sundanese language)

misro before deep fried

sometimes i am amazed with my ability and patience in the kitchen 🤪

put a layer of dough then put some sugar in then cover it with the dough around the sugar

grated gula aren = palm sugar

for combro the filling should be oncom but there is no oncom in Singapore so i replaced it with tempe (tempeh)

grated cassava and grated coconut, mixed

cassava, palm sugar in its original wrap, tempe

I’m Yours

Your heart, Beloved,
Is yours. We though share one soul
Bonding us for good.
I send love to your heart while
The soul hugs us forever.

everything looks beautiful when seen with love

this is one of 6 stems of orchids celebrating life before they dry out some time later, reminding me to keep sharing love and compassion until my existence changes dimension

thank you, dear orchids

Forgiveness (ranting)

Forgiveness, my love
Blooms among showers of love
Coming out of love.

I became very upset yesterday after listening to some statements that in my perspective was sarcastic and on the contrary to what I personally saw. Most people laughed though.

Then what came across my mind was that person was trying to tell me secretly through a “townhall” that I was not the chosen one. It is normal to be excluded or canceled or rejected/ but should be with dignity not giving silent treatment; and with consistent treatment not “saying this here, giving hidden messages there”– personal or professional, that is not a right way to treat people.

My day was so ruined. What made it worse was a heavy rain came unpredictably that I had to travel longer from Johor to Singapore because of traffic growing jammed in both countries’ immigration gates.

But then I talked to myself last night. What is so special about me that I should be the chosen one? Why not accepting what was securely? Why was so upset to statements that might have been intended to tell me the truth? Hurting truth is better than late one, right? Or what about if that was just a way to tell jokes?

It took me long to re-digest the why: I was using the 5-Why method to trace back possible root causes with no result.

Out of the blue an iMessage with a beautiful song came from a Coldplay lover saying that it was sent to me because the song reminded that person of me. Wow! What a coincidence! Exactly when the iMessage came, I was playing exactly the same song sent to me.

And that the song reminded that person of me must have had a reason: maybe the quality of either the music or lyrics of the song is so me? 🥹

Why this song? Maybe the song vibe represents my “feeling good and like falling in love all the time”. Hmm…. This must be something.

I opened the Holy Book randomly and got another good vibe; a verse started with a sentence: “hold to forgiveness”.

What a stroke of good colours has been thrown to me!

Ok, my day!

I will do all my laundry and house cleaning chores today, cook my breakfast and eat it happily, then go to sleep like a log tonight then tomorrow I will walk 5 kilometers in the morning or go biking 11 kilometers in the afternoon.

Yosh❣️

Thank you, Gusti Allah….

I forgive myself. I forgive others. I forgive myself for letting my mind be filled with negativity about myself and others. I forgive others who have been so out of context or being ignorant.

What song sent by that Coldplay heavy lover? Here it is.

thank you, KM-san! i think you’re right that i deserve to be a heart full of love and a person spreading good feelings

i don’t want to give up; i’ve worked hard to shape a loving heart up to this level — will never let go of my true self

❣️

I Love Who I Love

I love who I love
Through the existence of yours.
I am to comply.
There's only one rule applied:
Wholeheartedly or forced, done.

title of my tanka is inspired by none but part of Coldplay’s Jupiter

That planet never stops inspiring me. Thanks, Jupe.

there is one verse in the Quran that i could finally accepted when i reached 40:

arra’d #15 “and to God prostrates whoever is within the heavens and the earth, willingly or by compulsion, and their shadows in the mornings and the afternoons”

even when at the beginning i felt forced to accept what was, i finally found that i was saved through being forced while i was struggling declining what was

it’s like swimming in a river flowing sometimes so calm making journey so enjoyable, sometimes forcing and surging making it hard to believe;

just flow, my dear self

all is in the name of love

💗

Rebuilt to Break?

You know, Beloved
A new heart being rebuilt
Is about to break.

the biggest tear is when hope is betrayed before even it gets to know what to expect

Desiderata: Words for Life by Max Ehrmann

Desiderata is a word familiar to my ears and heart that today started echoing again in my realm of awareness after Dave Hendrik and Iwet Ramadhan brought out this poem in their morning chat. Thank you for the reminder and sharing! Their today’s chat (after I listened to the full rebroadcast) was like telling me to be careful with my own thought — jangan GR, Rike.... 😎

Desiderata is the plural form of desideratum (English word) that means something that is needed or wanted.

Desiderata in this context is a prose poem by the American writer Max Ehrmann. A prose poem is a format of creative writing that combines elements of the poetic form (especially the diction) and the prose form (especially the punctuation). It is a format that I sometimes use to describe photos under my poems – using punctuations and paragraph of prose while making the diction poetic. Beautiful!

Desiderata is truly a beautiful prose poem! Thank you, Max Ehrmann.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Home Sweet Home

Learning, love, Map It!, Poetic, This Person

Dear, dear Beloved.
There's a space all dearly miss.
It's a home sweet home.

I’ve tried inserting Jogja between my schedules since forever and now it is a dream-come-true.

There is a long to-do list for Jogja this time: checking if the orchids have rooted to the tamarind tree, eating gudheg, drinking ginasthel (legi, panas, kenthel = sweet, hot, thick in Javanese) tea prepared by my 90-year-old aunt, talking about my garden-to-be with my cousins, going watch Papermoon Puppet show and meeting up with batik artisans.

Yet to make it simple let me call it a not-so-short-but-not-long-at-all getaway to take care of my home project and to breathe the sweetness of village air.

Care to see my plan?

Here it is. Boring? That’s so me! 😊

Oct 25 (Friday)

9:45am arriving in Yogyakarta International Airport
noon to afternoon: visiting humble batik artisans: Ibu Tien and Mbak Izzah (any kind of sogan batik) in Imogiri then Mbak Fitri in Kasihan (batik nitik)
evening: eating gudheg
night: checking in and talking with Mbak Roh (permanent partner in crime in Jogja) on random topics until we fall asleep

Oct 26 (Saturday)

whole day with architect (Mbak Novi) in her gallery, my home then finally to Papermoon Puppet Theatre
evening: eating gudheg (again?) and whatever
night: talking with Mbak Roh, Mbak Endang and Agnes on random topics until we fall asleep

Oct 27 (Sunday)

whole day enjoying my aunt’s tea and home cooking in my father’s childhood home in Menoreh Hills
evening: eating gudheg (again??) and whatever
night: talking with Mbak Roh on random topics until we fall asleep

Oct 28 (Monday)

9:45am flying back to Singapore

I usually either give free class or tell stories to children in a small library in Bambanglipuro, but time doesn’t allow though. Skipped! Sorry, kids…. We love you, but I need to manage adult things this time. Next time ya….

Can’t wait to be home…. Jogja, please warmly welcome me like always.

loving the blue sky! view from the backyard-garden-to-be (June’s doc)

From Johor with love….

Happy In The Rain

Happy in the rain,
She's throwing smiles to the cloud.
Rain sends smiles to her.

yellow symbolizes happiness

don’t wait for external causes to celebrate life — rain can be a trigger to flooding anger within or simply a trigger to remind us that there is freshness within ready to dance

Generosity