A poem by a Palu’e-Malaysian youth speaks to the importance of love for people and nature in times of grief and loss.
FAUZ MA
Sunrise in Tok’nase of Rantepao, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia. Photo: FAUZ MA
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We know the movie of this world
We know how to play this act
We know how to stop this drama
We imagine all things in our minds
The actor just distracted our minds
They are lying
Your lips look dry and cracked
Your body looks skinny and dirty
Your hands and your legs cannot move well
You say your goodbyes
And it will be our last time
To see your love, your happiness, and our togetherness
The bench we were sitting on is still warm
The sunrise is still fresh
The sunset is still golden
But that is just a fantasy
Can you see how this breaks me?
Behind your back, slowly fading
I stand holding broken parts of memories, holding back tears
And I know this is only a scene
My mother and me. I couldn’t make you stay. But your golden heart stopped beating. Hard-working hands at rest. God broke my heart to prove to me He only takes the best. Photos: Hewi Ezra. Collage: FAUZ MA
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About the Poem
As an Indigenous youth from Indonesia, I hope to share my worldview through my poem, “The Scene.” We, as humans, live in this world that has a lot of scenes, a lot of dramas with many actors. Two years of the global COVID-19 pandemic were a long time for the world to have a break from regular activity. People all around the world had time to reflect and think about the past. As we know, COVID-19 was an attack on our world and many people died from the virus. This made me reminisce about my past and my memories, including about my mother. I felt as if I had come back home through my memories.
When I wrote this poem, I had a moment of introspection where I looked back at my past. I opened my eyes and widened my views of the world and how I thought about many things, especially about how we care for nature, people, and love.
Writing this poem gave me the time to reflect and wonder what love means to me and to the world. In my twenties, I received so much love, the kind of love that most people never receive. This experience was rare and precious.
Love is something that we all experience and feel, but it is perceived differently by each of us. So, it’s hard to define what love is universally. For me, love is like an extravagant decoration. It is raw and organic. When I feel loved, I can be myself because I know that I am accepted for who I am. Love helps us to be honest and real with ourselves, family, friends, other people, and nature. Love means to accept others for who they are. To know who they really are, we need to show our own real selves, too. These interactions allow us to create energy and chemistry, with other people and also with nature. We can create love with our energy and by caring about nature.
I have many memories of my mother and me. She was a beautiful lady to me. She was a kind person and always helped people around her. But she died on July 24, 2021, because of breast cancer. On the bench in our home, she said, “Don’t stop being a kind person, and don’t forget to care for and love people and also nature around you because they can help you in the future.” These words make me think that we, as humans, need to love and care for people and nature. Both love and care are really important to make a harmonious world, without war, killing, bullying, racism, and hate.
Me enjoying the view of the sea at Kota Raja Beach, Ende, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia. Photo: Tio
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Fauzi Bin Abdul Majid (FAUZ MA), a Palu’e-Malaysian youth from Indonesia, is a poet, writer, dancer, choreographer, and coach of modern dance. He graduated from Nusa Nipa University in Maumere, Indonesia. Now he is pursuing a Master of English Language Studies at Sanata Dharma University. Fauzi believes that values such as respect for fellow humans, nature, and the creator, are very important teachings. Read more from Fauz Ma:
- Tales of a Cursed Ship
- My Oxygen
- The Pati Karapau Ceremony of Nua Lu’a (Palu’e Island), Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, Indonesia
