- Indonesian poetry evolved from a rigid traditional style to a more expressive style, pioneered by figures such as Chairil Anwar. The themes of poetry also expanded, covering a variety of topics from love to social criticism.
- Nowadays, poetry is not only enjoyed through reading, but also through musicalization of poetry that is displayed in various media. Poetry packs deep meaning through simple but powerful words.
- This literary work stimulates exploration of deep feelings and thoughts. Some of the best examples of poetry by Indonesian poets include the works of Chairil Anwar, Sapardi Djoko Damono, WS Rendra, and others.
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Indonesian poetry grew through a generation of poets who brought renewal. From the old, rigid style, free expression was born through figures such as Chairil Anwar.
The theme of poetry is getting wider, from love to social criticism. Now, poetry is not only read, but also sung and performed in many media with the term musicalization of poetry.
Poetry conveys meaning through simple but powerful words. This literary work opens up space for deep feelings and thoughts.
Here are some of the best poems by Indonesian poets . Including Chairil Anwar and Sapardi Djoko Damono. Read the writing below for the complete.
Best Poems by Indonesian Poets
1. Not Worth It
Work: Chairil Anwar
I think:
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This is how it will be
While I was wandering like Ahasuerus.
Cursed by Eros
I crawled over a blind wall
Not a single door was open.
So it’s good that we also understand
This fire is a favorite
Because you won’t be anything
I was roasted to a skeleton.
2. Time is the only thing that is mortal
Work by: Sapardi Djoko Damono
What is mortal is time. We are eternal, picking up seconds by seconds,
stringing them together like flowers
until one day
we forget what they are for.
“But, what is mortal is time, isn’t it?” you ask.
We are eternal.
3. Lover
Work: WS Rendra
My lover is like a magpie.
Her voice is melodious.
Her eyes are glass.
Her heart is blue.
My lover is like a magpie.
Nesting beautifully in my heart.
My magpie,
our hearts are a rainbow of a dozen colors.
4. Color Painting
Work: Joko Pinurbo
for Andreas and Dorothea
Rain of hundreds of colors
spilled across the expanse of the twilight canvas.
The trees shouted happily
because from their aching branches
there were leaves of hundreds of colors.
The birds sang happily,
flying noisily from branch to branch
with wings of a hundred colors.
Two little angels weave light,
stretching a Ferris wheel
under a sky of hundreds of colors.
You shed hundreds of colored tears
into the silent gaps
that have not been touched by color.
5. Herman
Work: Sutardji Calzoum Bachri
herman can’t step on the ground can’t be at night on the moon
can’t be warm in the sun
can’t be shaded on the body can’t be blue in the lazuardi can’t wait on the ground
can’t have wings in the wind can’t be still in the clouds
can’t reach the words can’t be still in silence can’t be connected in the mouth
can’t hold in the hand can’tcan’tcan’tcan’tcan’tcan’t
where is herman? do you know?
help herman please help please help help help help!
6. Give Indonesia Back To Me
Work: Taufiq Ismail
The future of Indonesia is two hundred million gaping mouths.
The future of Indonesia is 15 watt light bulbs,
some white and some black, which light up alternately.
The future of Indonesia is a ping pong match day and night
with a ball shaped like a goose egg.
The future of Indonesia is the island of Java sinking
because of its one hundred million inhabitants.
Give me back Indonesia
The future of Indonesia is one million people playing ping pong
Day and night with goose egg balls under the light of 15 watt lamps.
The future of Indonesia is the island of Java which is slowly
sinking due to the weight of its burden
and then swans swim on it.
The future of Indonesia is two hundred million gaping mouths
and inside those mouths are 15 watt light bulbs,
some white and some black, which light up alternately.
The future of Indonesia is white swans
swimming around playing ping pong
on the sinking island of Java
and carrying one hundred million 15 watt light bulbs to the bottom of the ocean.
Give me back my Indonesia
7. In the Tent
Work: Goenawan Mohamad
We’ve been honest with ourselves about a theory from the start: love is short interruptions—five minutes, seven minutes, four…. And I’ll be watching you in my sleep.
What can make you fall asleep after a conversation? Maybe we are actually lulled by the sound of rain on the tent tarpaulin. In the space that protects us for the time being, I, an optimist, always think that the drizzle actually wants to entertain, only the light is no longer there: now the Petromax seems to have set. The clock feels small. And when the rain stops, the night lengthens because the trees are ringing.
Then you dream. I see a man coming out of the cold and the smoke of your breath: I see my figure, walking towards the woods. I cannot call him.
I hug you.
After that the sour smell of grass, the scent of marijuana, slowly left us.
8. Him and Me
Work: Sitor Situmorang
Will we make love in the oblivion of the universe?
– Isn’t the air full of emptiness wanting a price? –
Come, Sis, bring your heart close to this fire
But don’t let it burn once
Shall we prioritize this conversation?
– Isn’t the earth full of voices wanting to be filled? –
Come on, Sis, bring your lips close to the whispers of the heart
But don’t gasp for breath to sing
Isn’t your chest full of color?
On the altar, the seasons change.
You also forget and promise
Going to a secret game
A game of flirtation takes turns
Catch and run
9. The End of the Rain
Work: Aan Mansyur
In the cold, we hugged
while imagining the tips of the rain
as fireworks celebrating
a love that will never be separated
until the day comes
when you pass, I close the door
and the ends of the rain that falls
grow into grass and bushes
today, I suddenly remembered you,
on the chest of the road that took you far away,
every edge of the rain that touched
was the bloom of thousands of flowers
10. I
Work: Chairil Anwar
If my time comes,
I want no one to seduce me
Not even you
There’s no need to sob
I’m a wild animal
Outcast from the herd
Let the bullets pierce my skin
I’ll still be inflamed, attacking
the wound and I can carry it running
Running
Until the pain is gone
And I won’t care anymore
I want to live another thousand years.
Those are a series of the best poems by Indonesian poets that contain deep meaning. From these poems, we can capture emotional nuances, beauty in word choice, and reflections of life that are presented in an alluring and meaningful way.