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Poems on the MRT

Sebutir Pasir / A Grain Of Sand by Hadijah Rahmat

 

Sebutir Pasir
Hadijah Rahmat

Apalah erti hidup
sekadar penerusan tarikan nafas
tidak boleh atau gentar dihentikan
dan setakat menyelesaikan
sebongkah daging membungkus belulang
yang akhirnya diluluhkan
kematian dan kefanaan.

Yang dinamakan kehidupan
dibanding dengan alam dan ketuhanan
bagai sebutir pasir di daratan
yang hilangnya tidak sedikit pun
menjejas kesempurnaan.

Di tengah sahara kemanusiaan
seorang musafir bermimpikan
mata air yang mengalir
dengan igauan mengusir:

Jadilah aku sebutir pasir
membentuk muka bumi Tuhan yang indah
bukan yang dilayang angin
memasuki mata dan mengalirkan air mata!


A Grain of Sand
Written by Hadijah Rahmat
Translated by Alfian Sa’at

What is the meaning of life
just breaths continuing
unable or afraid to cease
and all merely to maintain
a lump of flesh wrapped around bone
which will finally be dissolved
by death and impermanence.

What we call life
compared to nature and divinity
is just like a grain of sand on land
whose loss will not in the slightest
subtract from perfection.

In the desert of humanity
a wanderer dreams
of a flowing wellspring
and visions that haunt him:

Turn me into a grain of sand
to adorn the face of God’s beautiful earth
not one blown by the wind
entering the eye and triggering tears!


Published in Berita Minggu (9 January 1983)

Dr Hadijah Rahmat is currently an Emeritus Associate Professor with the Asian Languages and Cultures Academic Group, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). She is a leading scholar in the Malay-Indonesian Studies and prominent Malay language and culture educator and a highly recognized literary author. In 2011, Hadijah was the first woman to receive the Tun Seri Lanang Award. The award, which is presented by the Malay Language Council of Singapore, recognises outstanding literary figures who have contributed to and enriched the Malay literary scene. She was appointed by the President of Singapore as Justice of the Peace (JP) on 24 April 2018 and is still serving to date. On 8 March 2024, she was inducted into Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame for her contributions and achievements as outstanding educator, author and poet.

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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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