Mantis 19 (Spring 2020)
Translation
Galeh Pramudianto
translated from the Indonesian by Brian A. Salmons
Asteroid, 1
kala pungguk masih merindukan bulan
aku telah menambang di bulan dan asteroid
merindukan alam riang berdendang
menyuling mineral dan logam
pungguk itu memandang kami dengan heran
hewan-hewan terus melata dalam lingkaran
dan manusia jumawa memandangnya dalam sangkar.
Asteroid, 1
when the hawk-owl still wishes for the moon
i’ll have just mined the moon and the asteroid
longed for creation’s enrapturing song
extracted minerals and metals
the hawk-owl stares in shock at us
animals go on scuttering in circles
and man gawks at them in cages.
Asteroid Blues
serangan nuklir dan asap jamur
bukanlah entitasku
aku hanya zantara
menyebabkan lamur
di tiap sekujur
aku meninggalkanmu
di dalam kawah
yang dikelilingi
oleh puing-puing
kehancuranmu sendiri
karenanya
kita seperti asteroid bertabrakan
hingga menjadi pecahan
satu sama lain tak peduli
planet mana yang kita tuju.
Asteroid Blues
nuclear attacks and mushroom clouds
are not my shape
i’m just a reaction intermediate
catalyzing short-sightedness
at every step
i leave you there
within the crater
amid
the debris
of your own undoing
that’s why
we are like asteroids colliding
before becoming fragments
heedlessly together
on a planet-bent heading
Surat Terbuka Asteroid kepada Bumi
Kepada Bumi,
Tuan kehidupan
yang kami temui dengan dengki
mungkin engkau sepasang raja dan ratu yang telah bersatu
menjadi corong pemberitaan di tiap lingkungan kami
kepada warga bumi jauhkanlah kami dari iri hati
karena dengan itu dosa pertama akan terulang kembali
di langit dan bumi
menjadi saksi kesekian kali
peradaban lenyap seketika
seperti debu terbang dengan mudahnya
maka sekali lagi tolong selamatkan kami
jauhkan dari kerinduan kami padamu
agar kami tak berkunjung ke tempatmu lagi
dan silakan kalian bergantian
suling tubuh kami
demi keberlangsungan kalian
jauhkanlah kami dari rindu
yang mengutuk bumi
jadi debu.
The Asteroids’ Open Letter to Earth
To Earth,
Lord of living
whom we meet with envy
you may be a royal house united
to funnel reports from each of our vicinities
to the subjects of earth keep us from jealousy
for the first sin will revisit accordingly
the ground and the sky
will witness repeatedly
the moment civilization vanishes
like dust easily scattered
we are once more saved
keep your distance from our longing for you
so that we don’t visit you again
and kindly take turns
distilling our bodies
for the sake of your continued journey
keep us from the yearning
that curses the earth
to dust.
GALEH PRAMUDIANTO is a writer from South Tangerang, Indonesia. He works in the education field and is one of the founders of Penakota.id, an online writer’s community. His poetry, short stories and plays have been published in numerous journals and anthologies in Indonesia. He is the author of two poetry books, Skenario Menyusun Antena (2015) and Asteroid dari Namamu (2019).
BRIAN A. SALMONS is a poet and translator from Orlando, Florida. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Eyedrum Periodically, Ekphrastic Review, Arkansas International, Levee Magazine, NonBinary Review, Memoir Mixtapes, Sunlight Press, and and others, including anthologies from YellowJacket Press and TL;DR Press. He is on the Social Media Team at The Ekphrastic Review and hosts their podcast, TERcets.