Screeching tires, shattering glass,
twisting metal, fiberglass.
The scene is set it all goes black,
The curtain raised the final act.
Sirens raging in the night,
sounds of horror, gasps of fright.
Intense pain, the smell of blood
tearing eyes begin to flood.
They pull out our bodies one by one,
What is going on, we were only having fun!
One of my friends is missing, what did I do?
Her scattered belongings everywhere,
in the road there lies her shoe.
A man is leaning over me and looking in my eyes,
"What were you thinking, son"?
"Did you really think that you could drive?"
He pulled up the sheet still looking in my eyes,
"If you'd only called your Mom or Dad, you'd still be alive!"
I started to scream, I started to yell;
But no one could hear me, no one could tell.
They put me in an ambulance; they took me away.
The doctor at the hospital exclaimed, "DOA!"
My father's in shock, my mother in tears,
she collapses in grief, overcome by the fear.
They take me to this house and place me in this box.
I keep asking what is happening,
But I cant make it stop.
Everyone is crying, my family is so sad.
I wish someone would answer me,
I'm starting to get mad.
My mother leans over me and kisses me good-bye,
My father pulling her away, she is screaming, "WHY"?
They lower my body into a dirt grave,
It feels so very cold, I yell to be saved.
Then I see an angel; I begin to cry.
Can you tell me what is happening?
she replies "YOU DIED."
I can't be dead; I'm still so young!
I want to do so many things - like sing, and dance, and run.
What about college or graduation day?
what about a wedding? Please - I want to stay.
The angel looked upon me, and with a saddened voice,
"It didn't have to end like this; you knew you had a choice."
"I'm sorry it's too late now; time I can't turn back."
"Your life is finished; that, my son, is a fact!"
Why did this happen? I didn't want to die!
The angel, she embraced me and with her words she sighed,
"Son, this is the consequence you paid to drink and drive.
I wish you made a better choice, If you did you would be alive.
It doesn't matter if you beg me, or plead on bended knee, There is
nothing I can do, you have to come with me."
Looking down at my family, I said my last good-bye.
"I'm sorry I disappointed you, Dad.
Mommy, please don't cry,
I didn't mean to hurt you, or cause you any pain.
I'm sorry all you're left with is a grave that bears my name.
I'm sorry all your dreams for me have all been ripped away;
the plans for my future all gathered in a grave.
It was such a stupid thing I did, I wish I could take it back;
But the curtain is being lowered.
SO ENDS THE FINAL ACT...
Lisa Teller
The Final Act
Semedi di Rahim Ibu
(untuk ibu pertiwi yang air matanya
tak henti menjadi doa)
Telah lama tak kudidihkan jantung ini
untuk sekedar menghafal warna darahku.
Di sini tahun-tahun begitu sakit untuk dibaca,
sesakit tanah airku yang terus digadai air mata.
Dari detik-detik yang kutelan kemarin,
ingatanku meleleh bersama gelisah para pedagang
yang perlahan keringatnya disadap konversi minyak ke gas,
kucium kota-kota tak lagi perawan, di saat deretan mall
dibangun khusuk bersama bising knalpot.
Kulukis ijrail di ruang ini, sambil menghafal banjir yang mengalir
dari mata ibuku. Untuk kesekian kalinya,
kusaksikan orang-orang kian menyusu di trotoar,
ketika kampung halaman ditinggal bukit dan sawah.
Inilah negeriku, negeri yang pasrah air tanahnya disedot kapitalis.
Melulu BBM kita ditipu, melulu pendidikan dijarah komoditi,
melulu reformasi ini dicetak realita dengan arti "repot makan nasi".
Lalu tiba-tiba nadiku merambat ke rahim ibu,
menyaksikan doa-doa kelu yang kian disebrangkan globalisasi.
Mengapa harus kutunggu masa depan negeri ini karam,
saat air mata kita adalah sekoci yang siap dilayarkan harapan.
Mungkin masih tersisa sebiru catatan di hatiku,
tentang nilai kesederhanaan yang memuai ke pagi ini,
di mana kesejukannya mengabadi bersama puisi.
Million Man March Poem
The night has been long,
The wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark,
And the walls have been steep.
Under a dead blue sky on a distant beach,
I was dragged by my braids just beyond your reach.
Your hands were tied, your mouth was bound,
You couldn't even call out my name.
You were helpless and so was I,
But unfortunately throughout history
You've worn a badge of shame.
I say, the night has been long,
The wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark
And the walls have been steep.
But today, voices of old spirit sound
Speak to us in words profound,
Across the years, across the centuries,
Across the oceans, and across the seas.
They say, draw near to one another,
Save your race.
You have been paid for in a distant place,
The old ones remind us that slavery's chains
Have paid for our freedom again and again.
The night has been long,
The pit has been deep,
The night has been dark,
And the walls have been steep.
The hells we have lived through and live through still,
Have sharpened our senses and toughened our will.
The night has been long.
This morning I look through your anguish
Right down to your soul.
I know that with each other we can make ourselves whole.
I look through the posture and past your disguise,
And see your love for family in your big brown eyes.
I say, clap hands and let's come together in this meeting ground,
I say, clap hands and let's deal with each other with love,
I say, clap hands and let us get from the low road of indifference,
Clap hands, let us come together and reveal our hearts,
Let us come together and revise our spirits,
Let us come together and cleanse our souls,
Clap hands, let's leave the preening
And stop impostering our own history.
Clap hands, call the spirits back from the ledge,
Clap hands, let us invite joy into our conversation,
Courtesy into our bedrooms,
Gentleness into our kitchen,
Care into our nursery.
The ancestors remind us, despite the history of pain
We are a going-on people who will rise again.
And still we rise.
Maya Angelou
Malamku Tak Bertepi
malam ini semakin sayu
mataku lelah tak sampai
tubuhku yang terkulai di kasur
seperti cacing tersiram air kapur
menggelepar
lelap tidurku
hanya ada dalam angan
ubun-ubunku terus memanjang
dalam petang
yang kemudian terbentur
di langit-langit rinduku
ingin kuberlalu
dan kubawa kedalam mimpi
tiba-tiba...
terbuka lagi
sikat kenangku denganmu
yang mencacah hati
sekarang
baru ku mengerti
malamku tak bertepi
A Window
Once 'twas a special dawn, as gazed I through a frame
Outlines of hills were calmly swaying ocean waves
An afloat ball's ablaze with gleaming flames
Lyrical dulcet chirps I heard in slow octaves
As joyous unseen birds sang merry songs
My mind then wander'd in a sea of thoughts
The day grew older, (and a temper strong) ...
'We lose today what we had always sought! '
The hot noon sun had bounced o'er the house
I wash'd my hands in sunshine on the sill
As tangent rays peek'd behind nimbus clouds
Invisible painters coloured heavenly skies until
The seasons chang'd and rains came down through mist
And splash'd my soul as if to give a bath
Then I embrace'd it with an open fist!
'For thou now were engaged with me till death...'
Life's changing seasons are HIS way to be
As Death ensnares and tries to claim my only Love
All battles I can win if you art beside me
With thou in shaking arms, I beg the Lord above...
As through the window I look out(in) time and again
And always see 'love-fire' ignite from ashes of a coal
'My mirrored image I then saw in your face, when
You clos'd your eyes and shut the window to thy soul'
...
...
...
As long as stars can shine or Gods can be
Thou always shalt live in my heart...
I follow thou now and'll till eternity
Death is just too weak to do us apart...
(A second window closed)
Sagar Patil
