Sudanese Peace And Harmony In Indonesia Poetry from Year of The Poet (Vol 56)
Featured in The Year of the Poet August, 2018 Volume 56.
Sudanese Peace And Harmony In Indonesia
Not to be confused
with the Sudanese of Africa
“katentreman” and “tengtrem”
peace in Sudanese
spoken in West Java and Banten province
in Asia
where the language you use
depends of the age and status
characteristics of the person
to whom you speak
Where these Austronesian people can sit
watching the sunset on Sawarna Beach
in the Western part of the Indonesian island of Java
contemplating peace and harmony
“katentreman” means peace
calmness ease and restfulness
And we can all rest more calmly
when there is peace
gently setting our mind
in a sea of ease
At Peace With A Small Twig In Hand
On the island of Yap
where people who speak Yapese
say “gapaes” peace
as they talk with neighbors
On stone paths
a network of communication
between villages
you might meet a stranger
carrying a small twig or branch in hand
the twig signifies
a peaceful journey
and no food is eaten
no loud noises or whistling is done
walk single file
show respect
be at peace “gumud”
and honor Micronesian “gapaes”
Peace Is Riak Good
“Riak” is good
in the extinct language of Pazéh
or Pazih
Pan Jin-yu the last native speaker
died in 2010
age 96 in Taiwan
“Makariak” is peaceful
and friendly to each other
which is good
“Maxariak”
is to be rich
or to become good
“Riak a midem”
sleeps well
so that you can
“Bu riak”
do good will do
in the
“Riak a dali”
fine weather
for planting
“Tun ka riak”
a good plant tall and hardy
grown well and
“Riak a ka-kan-en”
good to eat
in the company of friends
Originally published in The Year of The Poet (Vol 56) at http://www.innerchildpress.com/the-year-of-the-poet.php on August 1, 2018.
