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Poems on the MRT

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Bicaraku Dengan Sang Rumput / My Conversation With The Grass by Wan Jumaiah Bte Mohd Jubri

 

Merenung lautan hijaumu
bak menghirup sesamudera tenang
juga damai yang kau salurkan
sedalam bumi sejauh langit

Mahuku ini kian menjolak
menjala resahmu biar sebesar zarah
namun kau katup ceritamu nan sarat
membendung selangit rahasia
tika kau dipagut diinjak diludah
kala kemarau menyalai warnamu
& uratmu dijerut beku salji
kau senyum cuma menahan lidah
demi alam & isinya

Duduk diri bebungamu nan melata
adalah penyeri jalan dalam sunyi
beriring akar teguh & setia
tabah bernafas dicelahan batu
& merah kasihmu menyala dalam hijaumu yang damai

Mengenang taburan budimu
mendanau manik-manik air di bibir mata
terlerai segala dangkal pada sebuah pengertian
dalam menafsir hayatmu
walau apapun warnamu nanti

Duhai sang rumput…
masih ada rama-rama bercanda girang di dadamu…


My Conversation With The Grass
Written by Wan Jumaiah Bte Mohd Jubri
Translated by Annaliza Bakri

to gaze at your waves of green
is to inhale an ocean of calm
and the peace which you channel
as deep as the earth, as far as the sky

my desire grows
to trammel your anxiety to the size of an atom
but you hide your loaded story
safeguarding a skyful of secrets
even when you were bitten stepped spat on
when the drought dried out your colors
& your veins throttled in the freezing snow
you smiled, withholding your tongue
for the sake of the world & all in it

sitting, standing, your flowers cascading
lighting the path of silence
accompanied by roots, strong & loyal
still breathing amidst the rocks
& your crimson love burns in the verdant peace

when I remember your kindness
water beads on the eyelids
scattering the superficial in a flash of understanding
in reflecting on your life
no matter what your final tone will be

dear grass...
there are still butterflies babbling on your chest...

Published in Kayu Api (2021)

Wan Jumaiah Bte Mohd Jubri is 63 years old and an author of Malay literature. She has written three compilations of Malay short stories. At the age of 20, she started my journey as a short story writer. A few were recognized and awarded. Two of her short stories, ‘Penawar Rindu’ and ‘Sambal Goreng Mak’, are included in the Malay literature ‘O’ levels text books. She started writing poems in 2006 at the age of 45. In 2015, she submitted a collection of five poems to the Golden Point Award writing competition and won the third prize.

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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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