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Poems on the MRT

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Membelah Budi / A Severed Mind by Abdul Ghani Hamid

 

Berulang-ulang putaran rakaman
dan bertukar-tukar nada
meracun telinga seniman
terdampar musnah di tembok buta.

Keinginan idealis lama segar
membakar sungguh hati
untuk hasrat sendiri menjalar
atau sendiri membelah budi.

Ketika melangkah perjalanan
tak usah mimpikan kurnia,
kejayaan tidak di tempat perhentian
kerana tidak ada akhirnya.

Tiada perhentian di ruang muktamad
kepada permulaan yang bertekad.

A Severed Mind
Written by Abdul Ghani Hamid
Translated by Alfian Sa’at

Repeatedly the record spins
and the notes keep changing
poisoning the ears of the artist
hurled against a dead end.

The old ideals are still fresh
burning in the heart
for desires that might spill outwards
or turn inwards to split the mind.

In the midst of travelling
dream not of the rewards,
success lies not at the destination
because there is no end.

There is no resolution at the finish line
when one begins a journey with resolve.


Published in Tekad - Satu Perjalanan Penulisan Karsya Sasterawan Kita (2012).
Reproduced with permission from Marshall Cavendish Education.

Credit: Arts House Limited

Abdul Ghani Abdul Hamid (13 April 1933 - 13 April 2014) was an award-winning writer, poet and artist. Writing primarily in Malay, A. Ghani Hamid, as he was commonly known, had hundreds of poems, short stories, essays, newspaper articles and plays to his name. As a painter, he had participated in more than 60 exhibitions since 1950. He was a founding member of Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya (APAD, or Artists of Various Resources) and the recipient of three prestigious literary awards: Anugerah Tun Seri Lanang (1998), Southeast Asia Write Award for Malay Poetry (1998) and the Cultural Medallion (1999). (Source: Singapore Infopedia by Nureza Ahmad)

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Poems on the MRT is an initiative by the National Arts Council, in partnership with SMRT and Stellar Ace. Produced by Sing Lit Station, a local literary non-profit organisation, this collaboration displays excerpts of Singapore poetry throughout SMRT’s train network, integrating local literature into the daily experience of commuters. Look out for poems in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil in trains on the East-West, North-South and Circle Lines, as well as videos created by local artists and featuring local poets in stations and on trains. The Chinese, Malay, and Tamil poems are available in both the original languages and English. To enjoy the full poems, commuters may read them on go.gov.sg/potm.

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