Twisting the hands of Socrates, four tanka

Sometimes, I challenge my self just to get new poetic ideas. And this afternoon, I thought randomly about popular quotes of great people and I suddenly fell into Socrates. I am not really into philosophy but reading his quotes has sparked the ideas I desired. Most quotes transformed into these works are here http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/socrates.html

1/
life unexamined
is not worth living
as always
you don't let me
leave our treehouse

2/
will you marry me?
it's been years after I do
i find it
too hard to convince you
that poetry suits me fine

3/
leaving
this tall building
at noon...
only to see the clouds
letting my shadow darken

4/
picking the gray
out of my hair
curiously
she asks me how
to trim hate and desire

For better or worse haiga

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

Wild mushroom tanka and haiku

1/
wild mushrooms
in our deserted garden
grow in silence
we know how this coldness
lingers like cataract*

2/
the rage
i refuse to let loose
monsoon

3/
morning mist
floating above the lake
unfinished poetry
hoping you find it carved
on my headstone

4/
are you too, moon
stargazing?

5/
peeking
thru vertical blinds
morning sunbeam
is it love concealed
behind your eyelids?

*Previously published somewhere in this blog

Solem promise, tanka sequence

1/
spend the week end
with doing quiz
in a puzzle book
nothing i really know about
but living a simple life

lewatkan akhir pekan
dengan mengisi kuis
di buku teka-teki
tiada yang kutahu kecuali
hidup sebagaimana adanya

2/
i write a poetry
about the rain of july
the words we had
widen the hollow in between us
where nights are much colder 

kutulis puisi
tentang hujan bulan juli
semua pembicaraan
menambah ruang kosong antara kita
di mana malam terasa lebih dingin

3/
it's still there
a solemn promise to keep
in our minds
we talk intimately
and sleep back to back

tak hilang
janji suci yang dirawat
dalam hati
kita bicara begitu intim
dan tidur beradu punggung

4/
can you hear
a meow at the door?
in the dark
i'm drown in my thought
you in your dream

kau dengarkah
suara kucing di pintu
dalam gelap
aku tenggelam dalam fikiranku
kau dalam mimpimu

5/
no talk
no dispute
about divorce
we forget when it was
the last breakfast for two

tak bicara
tak bertengkar
tentang perceraian
terakhir kali sarapan berdua
entah kapan itu

Old poetry book haiku

old poetry book
a haiku on the title page
about my first love

buku puisi tua
haiku di halaman judul
tentang cinta pertamaku

Faint heart haiga

Tremor and poetry book tanka

I've learned about
the meaning of being alone
if only you're here
you'd know my new friends
a tremor and a poetry book

sudah kupelajari
arti hidup menyendiri
jika kau ada
kenalilah teman-teman baruku
tremor dan buku puisi

Abandoned gardens tanka

oh sparrows...
singing in distant field
where rice grows
i write poetry about
abandoned gardens

burung-burung emprit
berkicau nun di ladang
di mana padi tumbuh
aku menulis puisi tentang
taman-taman yang telantar

Geriatric ward tanka chain

1/
how boring it is
to be here in G-ward
i make myself busy
with watching baby birds
learning to fly

sungguh membosankan
tinggal di klinik jompo
aku menyibukkan diri
memperhatikan anak-anak burung
belajar terbang

2/
same meal
same taste
dear chef,
does your recipe
read like a poetry?

menu yang sama
citarasa yang sama
wahai juru masak
apakah resepmu terbaca
seperti puisi?

3/
please, don't hesitate
to reach me
you spend too much time
trickling down thru'
the infuse line

jangan ragu
untuk menyentuhku
kau habiskan terlalu banyak waktu
menetes, mengalir lewat
selang infus

When dream and tide collide