Towards Eternity - Poem of Dyah Nkusuma

 

DYAH NKUSUMA (Wonosobo, May 17, 1975) lives in Sampit. She manages the Kin Reading Corner and the Kin Sewing House. She has published over 100 anthologies, four solo works, and a duet by Dyah Nkusuma and Wardjito Soeharso. Her haiku frequently appears in the monthly magazine Haikukai, published by the Haiku University of Japan. She is currently the administrator for the literary groups TISI (Taman Inspirasi Sastra Indonesia) and NHI (NewHaiku Indonesia), and is the owner of the PuSeRik literary group. Dyah Nkusuma is included in the lexicon: What and Who Are Indonesian Women Writers/Authors (KKK)

Towards Eternity

(Dyah Nkusuma)

How could I be sad?

You had been saying goodbye

for a long time.

Always asking forgiveness

from the mother

who stayed by your side every day.

You even went to the gravedigger

to prepare your resting place.

You made the grave neat,

making the small space wider

for your final rest.

You even chose copies of Yasin

to share with others.

As your illness grew worse,

you refused further treatment.

"Enough here," you said.

And now these tears fall.

The world feels empty without you, Dad.

Where will I find that light again

the light that guided my life,

the lamp that showed me the way

through every dark path?

You walked toward eternity

with a heart at peace,

while those you left behind

still search for your warmth

in every corner of their days.

How could I be sad?

Yet my heart keeps weeping,

because the guide of my life

is no longer beside me