Friday, July 21, 2006

News from the Front of the Office of the Secretary of State

Once his body has been stretchered
Hurriedly
Out

We sing
'Leaves are Falling'
Slowly

A soldier
Takes off his beret and wipes
Tears none of us can hold back

At the top of the Gajatri
A flag hangs limp
Behind it: a roll of clouds

Taufiq Ismail
(1966)

(From Djakarta Dalam Puisi Indonesia (Poems of Jakarta), edited by Ajip Rosidi, Dewan Kesenian Jakarta, 1972, p. 107)

posted by lo! @ 12:29 AM

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