The sun

The sun

em = Upik Pelangi

We left our ancestors' land.

For the sun was no longer friendly.

We made for the city

to find again the friendliness of the sun.
It was a foggy morning.

The sun having not smiled in full yet

we stepped into a factory

in hope that the sun's friendliness

may have hidden there amidst the cracking of the machines.
Until the factory bell

rang in the twilight

and we lined up to draw our pay.

And yet the sun still didn't appear.
Factory smoke obstructed our view

of the sun.

The solutions of dye

washed away our hope

of the sun being always friendly

with our stomachs.
Sun ...

we still have conscience

please flare up

burn up

and we will rise up concertedly

to disperse the smoke

to lubricate the machines

to create a better life

and to then go in procession singing freedom songs!
[Translated from the Indonesian by Max Lane.]

From GLW issue 38