Puisi-Puisi D Kemalawati Dalam Buku Surat Dari Negeri Tak Bertuan

D Kemalawati
OMBAK

andai kau pergi jauh
tak kembali
akan kulayari kekecewaanku
agar siapapun kan merasakan
berbagai makna di kakiku
yang terus telanjang

Pelabuhan Malahayati, 1987

D Kemalawati
WAVES

if for instance you far away
and never come back 

i will sail on my disappointment
so that whomever can feel
the many meanings at my feet
that will continue to go bare

Malahayati port, 1987

D Kemalawati
SUATU MALAM DI SEBUAH HALTE

bus terakhir tetap sarat
apa yang kau tunggu
atau lampu meredup kelam
lalu tubuhmu terkapar

Banda Aceh, 1989

D kemalawati
ONE NIGHT AT A BUS HALT

the last bus was still full
what were you waiting for
or had the lights turned dim and gloomy
and your body drooped downward

Banda Aceh, 1989

D Kemalawati
SIA-SIA

mengejar bayangmu kasih
bagai ombak memburu tepian
tak berbekas

Meulaboh,1989

D Kemalawati
FUTILE

chasing after you shadow beloved
is like waves hunting for the shore
no traces left

Meulaboh, 1989

D Kemalawati
LENTERA

dialah lentera yang tergulir
dari tebing iring lahar dan kabut gerah
antara palung gelap dan basah
urai mimpinya
tuju rimba-rimba pekat
(lentera telah daki puncak keabadian)

Meulaboh, 1990

D Kemalawati
LANTERN

she is the lantern that rolled off
the cliff of lava and sticky fogs
between the dark and wet troughs
her dreams came apart
to leave for deep forests
(the lantern has climbed the peacks of immortality)

Meulaboh, 1990

* Terjemahan bahasa Inggris oleh Debra H Yatim