POETICAL EXPRESSION- 2

LEARNING FROM CHILDREN

Children are the living witnesses
Inheriting our tradition
From the beginning until the end

Children are our students
Children are our teachers
---
2008

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 73

*) Choosing to be a poet means that I have to be ready to take the lonely road.

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 72

*) We need time to be alone. It is a must. In solitude we usually make the best decision in this journey of life.

POETICAL EXPRESSION -1

FLOURISH EVERLASTINGLY

Everything will be crushed
Everything will be broken
Everything will become dusty

New buds will appear, flourishing the flat land

We will pray
We will sing the songs of ancestors
We will tebe*)
We will bidu**)
Circling the stones of the sacred house

A big mat will be spread out
We all will sit down
Our hearts will be soft
Our heads will be cool
Telling the truth
Recounting the wrong doings


The happiness of love will appear
The beauty of peace will be green
Flourish and flourish
Flourish everlastingly
--
June 2006

*) Tebe is a Timorese dance, usually performed by men and women in a circle by holding hands.

**)Bidu is another traditional Timorese dance, usually performed by men.

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 71

*) When we do not have a big heart and an open mind, it will be very difficult for us to forgive our fellow human beings when they fall into sin.

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 70

*) The world we live in is already "full of shits". It is better for us not to maket it become even worse.

*) How can you expect to have a good physical health if you do not have a good mental one as well?

*) Wise leadership is very much needed amidst the chaotic atmosphere of a society.

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 69

*) Truth cannot be concealed, no matter how, by anyone of us. Truth will, sooner or later, will reveal itself. Truth will set us free..

*) Our health, be it physical and mental is a precious thing in our life. If we do not take care of our body, soul and mind properly, we are the ones who will lose everything.

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 68

*) If we lose hope in life, we then will feel empty. And our life seems to be meaningless.

*) Balance in all segments of life is a must. It is a natural law. Anyone dares to challenge this law, he or she will be crushed by it.

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 67

[The wheel of life continues to spin around. And I follow its rhythm with all the strength and desire which I have...]

* Peace will be impossible to reign in the world if each of us does not keep burning its flame in our heart.

*) Mirror yourself always! By doing so, you will know who you really are.

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 66

[August is gone. I have to admit that during that month I was really in a gloomy mood. I got no desire to do creative things, etc. I was always haunted by the feelings of restlessness. ......Because of this, this "note of a musafir" was also neglected for quite a while. And I am still in the gloomy mood now. Hopefully, soon I will be free from this kind of condition of emotions..]

*) I can lie to everyone, but I cannot lie to myself and God.

*) Patience is very much needed if we want to be successful in life.

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 65

13 July 2008

9:59 PM

[Somewhere in the land of former Javanese kingdom, Singosari..

Gee, time flies. Now it is already mid July. Soon the year 2008 will come to an end. What have I done?

Dad’s funeral day which I usually celebrate has gone out of my memory. I completely forgot it for this month. Dad, how can I so forgetful? Do forgive me, Dad. ]

*) Our history was full of violence and bloodshed. Have we ever drawn any lesson from it?

*) When I am wrong, is there any space for forgiveness coming from your side?

*) Don’t ever fight back violence with violence if it is not necessary. Once you do so, you automatically enter into the hole of losers.

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 64

[Long time, no see. I was absent in cyberspace for so long.. Here I am, back...In Darwin, enjoying my ORB. Back to TL later today..]

* The children are our great Gurus. They teach us without hesitation by crying,etc...

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 63

*) The poet is a man/woman whispering his or her inner voice to us while we are in the cave of our chaotic civilization.

*) If you do not get focused on something, how can you expect to be successful?

*) The Golden Rule is the basic foundation of our moral teaching. It gives us a strong sense of how we suppose to behave throughout our life.

*) How can you expect kids to behave properly if you yourself do not perform as a role model?

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 62

*) Lord, why me? Why do You always choose me to be the spokesperson of my generation poetically?

***

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 61

[ Ita has been a month and a half I was out of the blog scene. Too busy with work, and family life,etc...]

*) Peace and harmony will be hard to achieved if the two individuals who are involved in any conflict continue to be stubburn, and not wanting to, what I say in Indonesian, "merendah".

*) History keeps repeating itself. Unfortunately, we never learn from the past. When and how can we free ourselves from this vicious circle?

***

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 60

*) Truth will set us free. It cannot be concealed no matter how. As a volcano, it will erupt someday. [pondering upon the puzzle of the nation related to the current situation..]

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 59

*) Are we courageous enough to be brutally honest in revealing who we really are?

*) The task of a poet is "memulung kata-kata" (collecting words).

*) An intellectual is the one who keeps encouraging us to be fully engaged in the beauty of imagination.

***

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 58

*) Words are sharper than swords. They can create deep wounds. Be careful in how and when to utter them.

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 57

*) Greal souls (scholars, artists, poets, etc) illuminate our pathways. They help us see things in a clear manner in our life considered as a journey. It is interesting to reflect again on what T.S. Eliot said in the lines of one of his poems that, "We shall not cease from exploration/And the end of all our exploring/will be to arrive where we started/And know the place for the first time//"

NOTES OF A "MUSAFIR" 56

*) [ What have I done during the year 2007? As usual I find that the more I do, the more I feel how little I have done. And for sure, there are a lot of things need to be done. ]

*) Reflection is a must for anyone who really wants to get involved in the field of life which is full of challenges. In connection with this, once a friend of mine said in Indonesian, "pengalaman tanpa permenungan terasa tak ada makna".

*) The recycling process in all aspects of life is an interesting phenomen to reflect upon. Please remember that there is nothing new under the sun!

*) Acknowledging that "one knows that he or she does not know" is a wise act.