Rats
Rats stop me in my path
The rats now hoisting a flag
and looking cynically my way
The rats embracing a flagpole
legs planted stiffly on the garbage bin
The flag, of indeterminate colors
flutters in the night
Which way the wind blows is uncertain
The rats that cross my path and the gutter
fly their flag high, as high as a minaret
as high as a church steeple
as high as a temple’s peak.
Whose national flag is it anyway
that flutters in the night.
Field rats, kitchen rats, gutter rats, garbage rats
tree rats, rice rats, city rats,
stand in formation at the flagpole’s base
paying respect to the night rats
on their memorial day.The rats that bar my way as I go home
together carrying the multi-colored flag
Laugh giddily to see me stop in my tracks.
Tikus-tikus
Tikus-tikus memotong jalanku
Tikus-tikus yang yang mengangkat bendera
Dan melirik sinis ke arahku
Tikus-tikus yang memeluk tiang
Tegar kakinya menopang di tong sampah
Bendera itu, tak jelas warnanya
Berkibar tengah malam
Tak jelas ke arah mana angin bertiup
Tikus-tikus yang memotong jalan dan parit
Mengibar benderanya, setinggi menara masjid
Setinggi toreng gereja
Setinggi puncak kuil dan pura.
Bendera kebangsaan siapa sebenarnya,
Berkibar di tengah malam itu.
Tikus tanah, tikus dapur, tikus parit, tikus-tikus tong sampah
Tikus pohon, tikus sawah, tikus-tikus kota,
Berbaris di kaki bendera
Memberi hormat
Hari agung tikus-tikus tengah malam.Tikus-tikus yang menghadang langkahku pulang
Menggotong bendera warna-warni
Tertawa gembira melihat langkahku yang terhenti.GGB, Sawangan 12/08/97
English translation by John H. McGlynn
- 115: SPACE
with A Sometimes
114: NO THEME 13
with J Toledo & C Tse
113: INVISIBLE WALLS
with A Walker & D Disney
112: TREAT
with T Dearborn
111: BABY
with S Deo & L Ferney
110: POP!
with Z Frost & B Jessen
109: NO THEME 12
with C Maling & N Rhook
108: DEDICATION
with L Patterson & L Garcia-Dolnik
107: LIMINAL
with B Li
106: OPEN
with C Lowe & J Langdon
105: NO THEME 11
with E Grills & E Stewart
104: KIN
with E Shiosaki
103: AMBLE
with E Gomez and S Gory
102: GAME
with R Green and J Maxwell
101: NO THEME 10
with J Kinsella and J Leanne
100: BROWNFACE
with W S Dunn
99: SINGAPORE
with J Ip and A Pang
97 & 98: PROPAGANDA
with M Breeze and S Groth
96: NO THEME IX
with M Gill and J Thayil
95: EARTH
with M Takolander
94: BAYT
with Z Hashem Beck
93: PEACH
with L Van, G Mouratidis, L Toong
92: NO THEME VIII
with C Gaskin
91: MONSTER
with N Curnow
90: AFRICAN DIASPORA
with S Umar
89: DOMESTIC
with N Harkin
88: TRANSQUEER
with S Barnes and Q Eades
87: DIFFICULT
with O Schwartz & H Isemonger
86: NO THEME VII
with L Gorton
85: PHILIPPINES
with Mookie L and S Lua
84: SUBURBIA
with L Brown and N O'Reilly
83: MATHEMATICS
with F Hile
82: LAND
with J Stuart and J Gibian
81: NEW CARIBBEAN
with V Lucien
80: NO THEME VI
with J Beveridge
57.1: EKPHRASTIC
with C Atherton and P Hetherington
57: CONFESSION
with K Glastonbury
56: EXPLODE
with D Disney
55.1: DALIT / INDIGENOUS
with M Chakraborty and K MacCarter
55: FUTURE MACHINES
with Bella Li
54: NO THEME V
with F Wright and O Sakr
53.0: THE END
with P Brown
52.0: TOIL
with C Jenkins
51.1: UMAMI
with L Davies and Lifted Brow
51.0: TRANSTASMAN
with B Cassidy
50.0: NO THEME IV
with J Tranter
49.1: A BRITISH / IRISH
with M Hall and S Seita
49.0: OBSOLETE
with T Ryan
48.1: CANADA
with K MacCarter and S Rhodes
48.0: CONSTRAINT
with C Wakeling
47.0: COLLABORATION
with L Armand and H Lambert
46.1: MELBOURNE
with M Farrell
46.0: NO THEME III
with F Plunkett
45.0: SILENCE
with J Owen
44.0: GONDWANALAND
with D Motion
43.1: PUMPKIN
with K MacCarter
43.0: MASQUE
with A Vickery
42.0: NO THEME II
with G Ryan
41.1: RATBAGGERY
with D Hose
41.0: TRANSPACIFIC
with J Rowe and M Nardone
40.1: INDONESIA
with K MacCarter
40.0: INTERLOCUTOR
with L Hart
39.1: GIBBERBIRD
with S Gory
39.0: JACKPOT!
with S Wagan Watson
38.0: SYDNEY
with A Lorange
37.1: NEBRASKA
with S Whalen
37.0: NO THEME!
with A Wearne
36.0: ELECTRONICA
with J Jones