Village

Kampoong/Village

    as morning breaks
    the rubbish piles up
    children scolded by mothers
    husband and wife shouting
     as morning breaks the rubbish piles up
    left and right arguments
    children crying
    husband wife fighting
    in turn with the radio
    people push and shove
    to get to the public well
     
    then teenage girls
    leave the kampung for the factories
    returning in the aftternoon
    eyes wrinkled with exhaustion
    living lives of no choices
     
    and children are born one after the other
    not knowing their house stands on the edge of drains
    playing in front a heap of rubbish
    behind walls
    in and around narrow lanes
    around and around in shadows
    looking for some open space

     
    Solo – Sorogenen, July 1988

    (Translation of Kampung)
     

    Source:
    Asia Pacific Solidarity Network (APSN)
    Url: http://www.asia-pacific-solidarity.net/southeastasia/indonesia/publications/prdbook/wijipoem.htm