the story and the poems

ramadhan is a very humbling time. and there's a good reason for it. long before the fasting month, the comfort of food, water and luxury are usually taken for granted. memang tak dirasakan langsung. the joy of breaking fast after a long and arduous journey, makes one wonders, how fortunate and blessed it is to be able to live and enjoy the minimum luxuries in life.

the story behind this poem was, it was actually given to a friend of mine, with a hope that he will post it in his blog. but long before the story came to be, we had to travel and endure the hot and sunny equatorial afternoon sun. basking atop of the express boat for more than an hour, battling thirst and the urge for shelter; from sk nanga kain to kapit, was pale in comparison to be in the first class of a fully air-conditioned express boat ride from kapit to sibu. my journey continued with another hour of bus ride to sarikei. that would mean i had my break in the bus. the journey, the weather and the humbling feeling of breaking fast in the bus sparked the idea for this poem.

and here is another poem. i had the idea for this poem after reading a thread by a friend of mine in engkabang.net ( hi bro ibnu ). he mentioned the idea of the absurdity of hari raya aidilfitri being given the image of reminiscing sadness; instead of celebrating it as a joyous occasion. suddenly, bam!, i got the idea of writing a poem of both reminiscence and joy. i wrote this poem in two parts (or halves, as i would always say) giving the picture of a child impatiently awaiting the arrival of eid. the first half, from the perspective of the little child himself, and the second half was from the perspective of an adult...or precisely, the little child's uncle. i couldn't come up with the title of the poem though....it was written at the spur of the moment.