I am Still Whole and the Words have not yet been Destroyed

I am Still Whole and the Words

have not yet been Destroyed

I am not an artist that makes news
but for certain I am always bad news for
those in power

my poetry is not poetry
but dark sweaty words
crowding each other
searching for a way out
they refuse to die
even though my eyeballs are gouged and replaced
they refuse to die
taken away from my home
repeatedly stabbed alone
I have already paid what they demand from me
time-strength-wounds

those words never stop demanding
always they tell me
you are still alive

certainly I am still whole
and the words have not yet been destroyed


(Translation of Aku Masih utuh Dan Kata-Kata Belum Binasa)

English Translations from Bahasa Indonesia by
Eden LAYDA
Asian Center
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City


Source:
ASIAN STUDIES 
Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia
Volume 49, Number 2, 2013 50th Anniversary Issue
Url: http://asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-49-2-2013/ASJ%20Vol%2049%20No%202%20-%202013%20FINAL%2015.pdf