Salleh Ben Joned’s Salacious Pantuns

Literary giant Salleh Ben Joned Salleh Ben Joned passed away a few months ago. His taste in pantuns favored the more … spicy. His short essay “Salacious Pleasures of ‘Pantuns’” on four classic pantuns from the book Kumpulan Pantun Melayu (published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Malaysia) features his loose translations into English and some […]

Raihan’s Sesungguhnya, in English

A translation of the classic nasheed Sesungguhnya by Raihan into English. [two_first] In truth this heart longs for You In truth this being longs for You Yet I cannot understand Why love still has not appeared Yet I cannot understand Why longing has not yet blossomed [/two_first][two_second] Sebenarnya hati ini cinta kepada Mu Sebenarnya diri […]

Mengapa rebung adiknya buluh

Bamboo thrusts dramatically out of the soil, clean, symmetrical, very sharp. The shoots grow fast, shooting over my head within a matter of days. Only once they have reached their final height, long slender swaying canes 25 feet tall, will they leaf out and send stiff woody side branches out from the nodes. They can grow so fast because all […]

Menjelang 1 Mei

A rousing poem in Bahasa Malaysia from student of agriculture Chairil Aswad, on twitter as @schwarzenmann.  First published in E-Sastera Sajak Facebook group, 30 April 2015. Translation into Inggeris mine.  Views expressed are not etc etc. Celebrating May 1 [two_first] (For Lia) The city is no longer the place for me to record my poems […]