Paper boat and drizzle tanka

1/
tell me, owl
about nothingness
under this roof
a sheer monotony
of midnight drizzle

2/
love
is sacred
lightly
he sends a paper boat
down the river

Thru the rapids tanka

1/
thru the rapids
the river runs endlessly
how tempting!
this adventurous life
in the darkest poetry

melintasi jeram
sungai ini mengalir tanpa henti
betapa menggoda!
hidup yang penuh tualang
dalam syair paling gelap

2/
walking in
shallow water at night
the coldness crawls
the way you stop talking
the way you start yelling

berjalan di
sungai dangkal malam hari
dingin yang menjalar
saat kau berhenti bicara
saat kau mulai berteriak

Moon river tanka

1/
now i'm down
by the river of light
o sickle moon
can you see petrified eyes
captured in the riverbed?

aku bersimpuh
di tepi sungai kemilau
o bulan sabit
kau lihatkah mata yang ketakutan
membayang di dasar sungai?

2/
under the streetlight
i stand, sigh and stare
the moon up
she says again and again
how she loves being alone

di bawah lampu jalan
aku tegak, mendesah dan terpaku
pada bulan terang
selalu saja ia bercerita
tentang cintanya pada kesendirian

Enough, she said tanka

1/

enough, she said

I stop pouring tea 

into the cup 

my ex used to sip from 

before it's cold

2/

so slowly

it runs before me

o river, river

it's the trembles in her hands

that wash me all over

Tuberculosis tanka

the vapor
from the river below
reaches the balcony
where he talks to
his tuberculosis

alternate version goes

from the balcony
gazing at the river down below
the vapor rises
and gathers the air
i exhale tuberculosis

Bridge the river haiku

sunny afternoon
shadow of a palm tree
bridges the river

petang yang terang
bayangan batang palma
melintas sungai

Hometown river haiku

hometown river
somewhere under the current
my reflection hiding

sungai kampungku
bayanganku sembunyi
di bawah arus