Skip to main content
Outdated Browser

For the best experience using our website, we recommend upgrading your browser to a newer version or switching to a supported browser.

More Information

Poetry

Poem in June

By T. Alias Taib
Translated from Malay by Eddin Khoo
In this reverie, modernist poet T. Alias Taib writes verses to an imaginary lover.
Listen to Eddin Khoo reads T. Alias Taib's "Poem in June" in the original Malay
 
 

my girl
       my mustache and beard still kept dirty for you
my sweet
       isn’t dirt the realm of your love? 
the grass
       flutters thrashed by a green moss wind
hair
       billows like a fish forced to its death
the cape
        does not pulse, the boats are gazing
the heart
        does not beat, on its branch solitude dangles

 

the sky
        flowing sadness delivered from space
eyes,
         slipping and sliding towards the thighs
a field
         stretches, a pilgrim shuffles in despair

 

her face
         the furrows of an unshaven plank 
her restlessness
          the disquiet of a raging wind
sheen
          the sun falling on the folds of my eyes dazzling
drought
           fences the surroundings, your voice rasping
 

                                                                         1971        


© T. Alias Taib. Translation © 2021 by Eddin Khoo. All rights reserved.

English Malay (Original)

my girl
       my mustache and beard still kept dirty for you
my sweet
       isn’t dirt the realm of your love? 
the grass
       flutters thrashed by a green moss wind
hair
       billows like a fish forced to its death
the cape
        does not pulse, the boats are gazing
the heart
        does not beat, on its branch solitude dangles

 

the sky
        flowing sadness delivered from space
eyes,
         slipping and sliding towards the thighs
a field
         stretches, a pilgrim shuffles in despair

 

her face
         the furrows of an unshaven plank 
her restlessness
          the disquiet of a raging wind
sheen
          the sun falling on the folds of my eyes dazzling
drought
           fences the surroundings, your voice rasping
 

                                                                         1971        


© T. Alias Taib. Translation © 2021 by Eddin Khoo. All rights reserved.

Sajak Bulan Jun

gadisku
misai dan janggut masih jua kotor bagimu
manisku
kekotoran bukankah alam kecintaanmu
rumput
menggelepar dipukul angin hijau lumut
rambut
berpusar seperti ikan direbut maut
tanjung
tak berdetak, perahu-perahu termenung
jantung
tak berdetik, di dahannya sepi tergantung

mega
mengalirkan pilu kiriman angkasa
mata
menggelincir dan terjun ke riba
padang
terbentang, seorang musafir mengesot walang
lalang
bergoyang, sepasang kupu-kupu lepas terbang

wajahnya

kerutmerut papan tak berasah
resahnya
kalutmalut angin mendesah
kemilau
matahari jatuh di daunan mataku silau
kemarau
memagari sekitar, suaramu parau
                                                        1971


© T. Alias Taib. All rights reserved.

Read Next

The ornate Khoo Kongsi house in George Town, Penang, Malaysia