We are Shaking Hands Today

today we are shaking hands
in opposing camps yesterday
now the game is over
we kicked it off and laid down
the rules
ourselves

today we bid good-bye to each other
reality has set the course of a journey
that leads to different destinations

today we want to express hope
that somewhere in this long journey of life
there will be a meeting point
where power, wealth and dignity
no longer signify
our differences

-- Prijono Tjiptoherijanto

Translated by Lie Hua

Note of a Journey

Returning home with a handful of doubt
Your face droops in the passage of time
A lump of meat is burnt out in the course of a season
In arid fields of cities

Age is pretty short
Against the outstretch of the horizon
A loud challenge to the future

Struggling in sweat amid the coldness of the mist
Never an inch to budge, no, never an inch
Only a coward will

Never care that history smiles its welcome in trash
As if sadness were no longer here
A sole dream remains
To stand erect or be burnt by the sun!

-- Sriyono Daning Rono

Translated by Lie Hua