Jogging Di Jakata Jogging in Jakarta

Jogging Di Jakata

Ahhh,
subuh jalan-jalan di kota
tanpa peta, asing juga -
nama-nama jalan telah diganti, sampai
kehabisan pahlawan mati
jalan dan lorong, jalur-jalur kota
seperti pesan dan janji-janji
yang tidak dipenuhi, torehan di hati -
jalur-jalur kota di peta tua
berwarna coklat sepi
 
Ya,
jalan-jalan masih lengang
orang berlari-lari, membebaskan diri
dari kelebihan beban mati
terinjak bunga tanjung, langka
bertebaran, terawa harum dan sedikit embun
Kini
kota terbangun di songsong hari
yang mulai terang, lampu-lampu jalan
tiba-tiba padam, mobil satu-satu
belum peduli, meluncur kencang malanggar
rambu-rambu dan arah terlarang
 
Minggirlah,
ada becak sarat ditimbun sayuran
didayung kaki cepat-cepat
mengejar jualan di pasar pagi
Lihat -
di simpang kakilima pisang dan ubi
Mulai digoreng untuk buruh bangunan
yang jongkok, bergumam -
laju pembangunan pesat, akselerasi dan
kontinuitas terjaga, selama ada komisi -
kebersihan kota pun terjamin: puntung rokok
dipungut cermat, tak ada yang tersisa
oleh lasykar membawa keranjang
sosok-sosok bayangan menelusuri pohon
tempat sampah dan selokan
mata tertambat ke bawah, cekatan
puntung terangkat oleh semacam jepitan
 
Ai,
terang sebentar lagi, diburu
tuntutan berkarya sepanjang hari - peta sepi
antara Monas, pancuran, jembatan, arah
Kebayoran atau Kuningan
peta lapuk, seperti jantung tua
dengan sudut-sudut gelap di mana arus
terhambat, kemudian terhenti -
Karet, Menteng, Pulo, Tanah Kusir, apa pun jadi
asal terlentang, jangan sampai ditanam berdiri
karena tanah pekuburan semakin langka -
 
Tapi -
paling risau nanti, kiranya bila entah
karena apa, tidak jadi dimakamkan di Jakarta
dan dini hari
atau lain ketika, roh dengan nostalgia
akan mencari-cari, tidak mengenal kota kembali -
mana peta sepi Jakarta, dengan
tanda silang, catatan dan coretan, garis-garis
torehan luka kehidupan
 
1980
 

Jogging in Jakarta

Walking at dawn through the city
without a recent map seems strange.
The streets have been renamed until
all the dead heroes have been used up;
roads, alleyways, streets
are commands and unfulfilled promises
incisions into the heart;
the city's streets on my old discoloured map
are lonely.
 
Yes
the streets are still empty of traffic.
People hurry along, eager
to rid themselves of the dead weights they're carrying.
Mimosa flowers are trampled, scattered,
their fragrance dispersed with the dew.
Now
the city wakes up to a brightening day
street lights suddenly pale
the odd anarchic car speeds in violation
of road signs and regulations.
 
Get out of the way -
here is a trishaw loaded with vegetables
feet pedalling urgently
to catch the morning market customers.
Look -
on the pavement at the junction, bananas and sweet potatoes
are being fried for the construction workers
who squat and murmur
‘development is rapid, accelerating, sustained'
as long as there's a kick-back.
The city's cleanliness is guaranteed: cigarette stubs
are picked up carefully, none left behind,
by the basket-carrying brigade
shades, silhouettes sticking close to the trees,
rubbish dumps and open drains
eyes fixed on the ground, expertly
picking up stubs with makeshift tweezers.
 
It will be broad daylight any moment, traffic relentless,
driven by the demands of work. The forsaken map
between the National Monument, the Fountain, the bridges
towards Kebayoran and Kuningan,
is tattered, like an aged heart with dark passages
where the flow is blocked, then stops.
 
Karet, Menteng, Pulo, Tanah Kusir . . . whatever happens
may I be laid to rest - may it never come to the point of being
buried standing up, because land for graves has become so scarce.
But,
more worrying still,
suppose for whatever reason one is not buried in Jakarta
and in the morning, or at some other time
the nostalgic spirits come looking, searching
and do not recognise the city -
where is that abandoned map
with its markings, scribbles, crossings out,
map of the injuries of life?
 
1980
 
Coming soon!
 

Original Poem by

Toeti Heraty

Translated by

Ulrich Kratz with Carole Satyamurti Language

Indonesian

Country

Indonesia