I Am Present

I am a woman, I traverse the ages

my hands burn clutching a legacy; a silent voice

I have witnessed wars spawning thrones

and kings smashing faces, the usual origin of might

I am a woman, a builder of bridges

I scatter fiery lava over silent hills

I stretch dreams across barren fields

troubled music from the crust of our earth

I am a woman, permanent yet changing

holding the rudder and

the pennant of the sun

I am a woman, just returning

and preparing to leave again

-- Abidah El Khalieqy

(Translated by Toenggoel P. Siagian)