Dancing Nymphs

I hear the footsteps

of the Nymphs

upon the grass—

greener this afternoon.

They nurse the trees

which shade me

from the bright

and shiny Helios.

The Nymphs are dancing around

with butterflies up and down.

One of them works her feet

happily, with the west wind

smoothly playing with her flowery hair,

beautifully garlanded.

She takes my hands

to make me catch up

with the Nature’s tune

until Night comes and

lays me down under the Moon

and Stars, sleeping tight.

Sunday, 4th July 2010 

Picture source: Dancing Nymphs, detail from "Parnassus" by Andrea Mantegna (1495-1497)

http://www.greek-gods.info/ancient-greek-gods/nymphs/nymphs-pictures.php

Ares

Penguasa medan tempur

Bersuka atas manusia gugur

Bersimbah darah, merah,

Tubuh yang pecah.

Brutal, kau bersuka dalam luka

Tebasan pedang, tusukan tombak, koyak

Jeritan benci, amarah senandungmu.

Phobos sang ketakutan

Deimos sang kepanikan

Adalah anak-anakmu.

Kau sebarkan api di kota, hancur-leburkan peradaban

Kau jarah desa-desa, murka, keluarga terceraiberaikan

Maut yang kau bawa, bau anyir kematian.

Wahai, Dewa Perang dari Thrakea

Ingatlah Aphrodite sang Dewi Cinta

Hanya di ranjangnya

Kau rela redakan angkara.

Pasrah, rebah, menyerah,

Kekasih sejatimu, dialah

Dari kau dan dia, lahirlah Harmonia,

Keselarasan,

Sehingga Kosmos terjaga dalam kedamaian.

Berikan sedikit keberanianmu, Ares,

Berikan sedikit rasa sakit,

Agar kupahami harga sebuah perjuangan

Menuju keutamaan.

9 April 2010

Crazy Dionysus

Written by Grace Dwitiya Amianti (Kharis Androgynou)

O, raving madness

You dwell upon this heart and mind

when I feel like trapped in routines

when I just want to release them all

when I’m not sure where I want to go

when only a thin line drawn between cry and anger

You are there

I found you in outrageous rhyme and loud music

where tones seem not in their right place

where growls and screams are banging my eardrums

I found you in wine-drinking

delirious revelry--though so not me

exhausting all night party

I found you in misspelled languages

strange habits, unpredictable actions

like someone’s yelling “fire” at the theatre*

But I also could find you in a lonely dark room

when this rush of mind makes me feel like my head is going to explode

when I can’t handle it anymore

Anarchy, it’s been so long

It’s so rare--the passion to destruct all things built

though you’re indestructible

and life itself always exists

Although I’m not one of your Maenads, ripping clothes off, eating raw meats, fleeting into orgies

though I’m a city dweller, far from your hidden caves and wild forests

I need you sometimes--just a tiny lesson, otherwise I’ll end up on streets eating garbage--

to dance with you carelessly, without anything to worry

so I can keep the balance

so I can accept the fact

that there’s always insanity, peeping through the holes

waiting for the right time to knock heads off--it will happen, sooner or later:

when people trust their logic blindly

when people think that they are always capable of everything

when people put Order as a monolithic, one true and only god

* from Every Time I Die song “Champing at the Bit”

Jakarta, October 25, 2009

03:05