Dalam Kesusahan oleh Latiff Mohidin

Dalam Kesusahan (the original version of “In The Midst of Hardship”) oleh Latiff Mohidin

 

Pada waktu senja mereka pulang ke rumah,
baju basah mereka telah koyak,
mereka berjalan ke arah dapur,
tangan mereka penuh dengan calar,
kaki mereka penuh dengan luka,
tetapi pada muka mereka,
langsung tidak ada perasaan kecewa.

 

Satu hari dan satu malam baru berlepas,
mereka perlu menghadapi banjir besar ini dengan berani,
sepanjang masa berada dalam air,
berada di antara barangan yang terapung di permukaan air,
serta bahan-bahan pecahan yang kecil,
asyik mencari kerbau kepunyaan anak mereka,
yang akhirnya tidak dapat dijumpa juga.

 

Mereka dilahirkan dalam kesusahan,
dan membesar tanpa mengadu atau mengeluh,
sekarang mereka berada di dapur,
sambil bergurau sambil menggulungkan daun tembakau.

1978

[Synopsis] In The Midst of Hardship

In The Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin

SYNOPSIS (OVERALL)

This poem is about a family who faces  hardship whereby their son’s albino buffalo is nowhere to be found. A flood occurs and they go out to find the buffalo. They reach home early in the morning without the buffalo and yet there is no  sign of despair in them. Meanwhile, they can still crack jokes and roll the cigarettes.

 

SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA)

 

STANZA 1

They returned home at day break and headed for the stove. Their clothes were soaking wet and tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any signs of being worried.

 

STANZA 2

They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. They searched desperately for their son’s albino buffalo but were unable to find it.

 

STANZA 3

They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead, they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarettes.

In The Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin

In The Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin

At dawn they returned home

their soaky clothes torn

and approached the stove

their limbs marked by scratches

their legs full of wounds

but on their brows

there was not a sign of despair

 

The whole day and night just passed

they had to brave the horrendous flood

in the water all the time

between bloated carcasses

and tiny chips of tree barks

desperately looking for their son’s

albino buffalo that was never found

 

They were born amidst hardship

and grew up without a sigh or a complaint

now they are in the kitchen, making

jokes while rolling their cigarette leaves

 

Translated by : Salleh bin Joned