I saw cicak sleeping on the ceiling
mosquitoes lay peacefully
next to that lizard
I gazed at them with envy
I gazed at the lamp there
hanging limp and lifeless
when a gamelan melody
traversed the bleak night's middle
soft caress of my ears
the song, the legato
the singer, I knew
I had heard them before
the calling, the invitation
to lie back after a tiring day
on a long bamboo beach
a song or two
to lull me to sleep
to numb brain, breast
woke to the news
from the night before
a neighbour had passed away
the song from the graveyard
warm welcome for him
from the place of beginning
to the womb of mother earth
mosquitoes lay peacefully
next to that lizard
I gazed at them with envy
I gazed at the lamp there
hanging limp and lifeless
when a gamelan melody
traversed the bleak night's middle
soft caress of my ears
the song, the legato
the singer, I knew
I had heard them before
the calling, the invitation
to lie back after a tiring day
on a long bamboo beach
a song or two
to lull me to sleep
to numb brain, breast
woke to the news
from the night before
a neighbour had passed away
the song from the graveyard
warm welcome for him
from the place of beginning
to the womb of mother earth
I love the way you weave in the sound of the gamelan
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jeltje. I hope it manages to paint a certain nuance to the poem
DeleteBeautiful. Gentle. Loving.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rob :)
Delete