January 30th, 2007
Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door
I know that I’m a prisoner
To all my father held so dear
I know that I’m a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got
You say you just don’t see it
He says it’s perfect sense
You just can’t get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late when we die
To admit we don’t see eye to eye
So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It’s the bitterness that lasts
So don’t yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don’t give up, and don’t give in
You may just be O.K.
I wasn’t there that morning
When my father passed away
I didn’t get to tell him
All the things I had to say
I think I called his spirit
Later that same year
I’m sure I heard his echo
In my baby’s new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
I said it out loud, Bapak.
Reflections | Comment (0)
January 9th, 2007
Happy new year, you guys. It’s not going to be happy all year long, but the greetings is a good start, ain’t it?
This is not about new year, or last year, or let’s-make-a-brand-new-start-and-face-the-world-with-big-grin-because-if-you-don’t-do-that-you’re-gonna-be-miserable-for-the-rest-of-this-year-no!-the-rest-of-your-life! kinda thing.
No. This is about me and my work, me and my hobby, me and my interests—books—the ones you’d seen making appearances every once in a while in my Now Reading section. They’re not all new books, new releases, but they got into my radar and managed to make me sit down, sometimes for hours—in cafes, on my bed, on planes, on toilet seats. And they sure hell are not everyone’s cup of tea, and surely would create smirks in some people’s faces—whether because I read cheesy stuff or I tried to look smart (I’ve already got my glasses, I HAVE to look the part)—but what the heck.
These are five books I found and read in 2006 which I like, love, make-me-wanna-shake-your-shoulders-and-said-"Read this!". So here goes:
1. The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
Time can play tricks with your mind if you’re not careful. So can your own identity if you don’t hold on to it. Be careful. He’s not your regular author. I love him. It’s like finding my soulmate.
2. The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt
A work of nonfiction, based on the fire of La Fenice Theater, Venice, in 1986, written like a (great) fiction. Only this time you got to know the real people behind every real story. Touching. Real. Would be an advantage if you had traveled to Venice. Ah! Venezia.
3. Imperium by Robert Harris
Roman politics and intrigues; Cicero, Pompey, Caesar; and a little about some women who portrayed this quote from my friend: "Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes with her arms crossed." (Thanks, A. I paid for this quote by sending you John Berendt, didn’t I?)
4. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
I was terrified. I was worried. I cried for my country. I prayed that it won’t be like the very hell of V’s world. —And it didn’t help because I read this during the peak of last year’s controversy, RUU APP.
5. Tesaurus Bahasa Indonesia by Eko Endarmoko
One word: PERLU! Congrats to Eko Endarmoko who had worked his rear-part off, for years on end, to make this come true and bring a great contribution to our country. I bet there are critics, mild to unsparing, but what the hell! This is the first Indonesian thesaurus ever!
So now I’m gonna close my door and head back to my other books—and in some cases, manuscripts. (There are so many of them, you won’t believe it.) And hopefully you’ll read another post like this at the beginning of next year. Read away!
Books | Comment (0)