Diego

I am sorry but I will come back as soon as things are settled, insyaAllah.

In the meantime, enjoy this heart-rending Okinawa song by Jimama, Okinawa singer. Finish the song and you'll understand.

Diego, the national flower of Okinawa.

Retirement of the Home Madame.

For people who have been actively employed all the waking hours, being paid handsomely or otherwise, they will have a cut-off line to change their lifetime status. When those employed time has ended and they brand themselves as "retired", the image is set.
Naturally, by this time they have a bagful of retirement reward, they feel inner satisfaction, they will look forward to hobbies that were sacrified long ago.

I envy these people. Its nice to know where you stand, good to know you are up onto another level of life.

The subject of this rambling is me.
I am a home person all my waking hours after I am "happily married ever after"!
The first phase of my life as a bearing and fruiting person is long gone.
Then the second phase of guiding and taking care of the growth has just gone.
Now, when the growth is blossoming, when the growth can take care of itself, where do I stand?
Quite clearly, this is the last phase of my life.

Then, do I call myself as retired?
I am still a home person, doing my home thing. So, in truth, let me ask again...
am I or am I not retired?

Persamaan Pantun dan Haiku

Sudah hampir setahun Sdr Darma Mohammad berkecimpung dalam penulisan haiku dengan prolifik. Haiku-haiku karangan beliau masih dalam proses pengumpulan.

Catatan analisis ini ialah hasil dari kajian beliau menuju ke jalan kemantapan dunia haiku.

***********

Pantun klasik Melayu yang sentiasa segar (evergreen) ialah :

Tuai padi antara masak,
Esok jangan layu-layuan;
Intai kami antara nampak,
Esok jangan rindu-rinduan.

[Pujangga tanpa nama]

[1]
Pada pandangan umum sesebuah pantun mempunyai dua unsur penting ialaitu Pembanyang dan Maksud.
Dua baris pertama (blok A) disebut pembayang, manakala dua baris akhir (blok B) adalah maksud.
Pantun itu mengandungi 4 baris (bagi pantun 4 kerat) dan setiap barisnya terdiri daripada 8 - 12 sukukata.
Bunyi hujungnya berbentuk a-b-a-b.

[2]
Apabila mendalami pantun klasik yang diakui bermutu tinggi; dua baris (Blok A) dengan dua baris (Blok B)
mempunyai kaitan naratif. Pembaca jarang memerhatikan hal ini, kerana pada pandangan umum,
dua baris pertama (Blok A) itu semata-mata pembayang dan tidak bermakna apa-apa.
Begitu juga dengan baris 1 dan baris 2 (Blok A) itu sebenarnya ada kaitan atau urutan naratif, bukan semata-mata
sekadar ada sahaja.
Dengan itu dalam sesebuah pantun klasik yang bermutu tinggi setiap baris itu ada kaitan semuanya.
B1, B2,B3 dan B4 mempunyai naratif; iaitu ada kesatuan cerita dan maksud.

[3]
Perhatikan pantun klasik di atas :

Tuai padi antara masak,
Esok jangan layu-layuan;

Naratifnya :
Pada musim menuai, masyarakat desa sama-sama menuai padi di sawah. Padi huma (ketika itu), perdunya tinggi.
Bila mereka mengetam, keadaan buah/tangkai padi itu berada di aras dada atau bawah sedikit. Mereka menuai padi
yang sudah masak (ada bahagian yang belum masak), nanti kalau tidak dituai,pokok padi itu akan (rebah) atau
tumbang ke bumi,dan ini menyukarkan mereka menuai nanti.
Di antara mereka yang menuai itu terdapat seorang teruna dan seorang dara yang sedang dalam percintaan.

Intai kami kami antara nampak,
Esok jangan rindu-rinduan.

Sang dara atau sang teruna (salah seorangnya) meminta temannya mengintai / melihat / menatap wajahnya
di balik pohon-pohon padi itu untuk melepas rindu masing-masing. Mungkin ini dilakukan secara rahsia,
ditakuti perbuatannya dilihat orang. Mungkin masa itu mereka berada (menuai) tidak jauh dari satu sama lain.
Oleh kerana pokok padi itu agak tinggi, wajah mereka antara nampak dengan tidak. Kesempatan ini (waktu menuai)
hendaklah dimanfaatkan oleh sepasang kekasih ini, agar antara mereka tidak merasa rindu yang bersangatan
pada keesokan harinya.

JIka naratif itu diterima, maka keempat-empat baris (B1,B2,B3,B4) pantun itu mempunyai satu kesatuan yang padu.
Ini menunjukkan pantun klasik ini teramat tinggi mutunya.

[4]
Pengalaman membaca puisi klasik Jepun iaitu haiku (oleh Basho) cukup menarik. Haiku puisi 3 baris dengan sukukata 5-7-5 itu
mempunyai kesatuan dari segi naratifnya. Haiku yang baik mesti mengandungi unsur alam (pantun pun begitu juga).
Dalam haiku ada kata musim (tidak diwajibkan dalam pantun), tetapi pembayang yang baik harus menggunakan
daripada unsur alam. Haiku mengandungi perasaan atau kesan emosi di dalamnya, demikian juga pantun yang baik.

[5]
Pantun klasik Melayu lahir dalam masyarakat Melayu, manakala haiku dalam masyarakat Jepun. Pengucapan seniman
yang tulen tidak dapat pisahkan daripada alam persekitaran penciptanya dengan luahan pemikiran, perasaan dan pandangan hidup
penulisnya.

**********************

Terima kasih Sdr Darma mengizinkan catatan ini disiarkan.

Selamat menunaikan ibadah haji bersama isteri, semoga mendapat haji mabrur.

Wassalam

Raya 1429/Oct 2008

Today is the 4th of Syawal, I am still blinking. Don't know how I managed the whole week before the Raya and the cleaning up the days after.
My family, or what is left on this island, wish all beautiful readers and closed friends, far and near:

Salam Aidil Fitri,

May we forgive and forget,

May we understand each other more,

May we mature and not make the same mistake over again.

(this goes for me as well).

With my mother passing away less than 3 months ago and without my two daughters with me, I could not celebrate Hari Raya. Could not!

I made up my mind not to go the morning eid solat, I didn't want to make cookies, I looked at the curtain and let the dust fly happily. During all the days of Ramadan, I stayed home, eventhough there were invitations for iftar together.

I know my actions and decisions were wrong. This is not Christmas, this is not Deepavali, this is Aidil fitri and I am part of it. Then 3 days before 1st Syawal, my brain snapped out of its cocoon.

Alone, I pulled out the flour, the sugar, the rollers and tried making something.

I did but my heart wasn't in the tarts. The pineapple jam just melt out of its fillings, the oat cookie was half-burnt, the blueberry roll cookie wasn't rolling and the peanut bites was hard enough to break a dog's tooth!

Ya Allah, I am into one of my deep depressions, take me out of it! I refused to switch on radios from Malaysia and Singapore, just so I don't have to listen to the raya songs. That can take me deeper into the dark valley in the deep oceans!

My otto somehow understand the "underflow" or lack of it, in this brain. He took me to buy flowers, he helped to clean and tidy the rooms and he went to get the meat for rendang and other raya dishes.

I was smiling quietly to know that most of the muslim friends on the American military base have gone home mainland and many students from JPA are still holidaying in Malaysia and no Malaysian from the JICA group.

So I told myself, "yeay, no cooking, nobody is visiting me!"

There and then, I decided to spend my first raya day at the hot pool spa.

Oh no, that wasn't the best plan arranged for me. One friend from Perak, told me she might bring in the whole contingent from Indonesia to my house.

With a surrendering sigh, out come the kerisik, serai and lengkuas. Soaked in the pulut and waited. Slowly, things just happened. The flow moved on in the right direction. Draggingly, I have to feel the beat, I cannot just drowned myself on this wonderful day.

I am sorry to say, I did not take any photos, neither did I hang those wishing raya cards that were from beautiful friends in Malaysia.

Those flowers in the photo above, are the only evidence of raya this year from this house.

footnote: a few more sessions in the hot pool spa might pull me out of this, so bear with me for a little while, thank you.