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.]