Wednesday, November 08, 2006

MOTHER

The Mother

1. When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you.
You thanked her by crying all the night.

2. When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk.
You thanked her by running away when she called.

3.When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love.
You thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.

4.When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons.
You thanked her by coloring the dinning room table.

5.When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays.
You thanked her by looping into the nearest pile of mud.

6. When you were 6 years old, she walked you into school.
You thanked her by screaming, "I'M NOT GOING".

7. When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball.
You thanked her by throwing it through the next-door-neighbor window.

8. When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream.
You thanked her by dripping it all over you lap.

9. When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons.
You thanked her by never even bothering to practice it.

10. When you were 10 years old, she drove you all day, from soccer to gymnastic to one birthday party after another.
You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.

11. When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the movies.
You thanked her by asking to sit in the different row.

12. When you were 12 years old, she warned you not to watch certain TV shows.
You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.

13. When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming.
You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.

14.When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp.
You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.

15. When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug.
You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.
16. When you were 16, she taught you how to drove her car.
You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.

17. When you were 17, she was expecting an important call.
You thanked her by being on the phone all night.ere

18. When you were 18, she cried at your school graduation.
You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.

19. When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to campus, carried your bags.
You thanked her by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of you friends.

20. When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone.
You thanked her by saying "It's none of you business".

21. When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future.
You thanked her by saying "I don't want to be like you".

22.When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation.
You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.

23.When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment.
You thanked her by telling your friend it was ugly.

24. When you were 24, she met your fiancé and asked about your plans for the future.
You thanked her by glaring and growling, "Muuhh-ther, please!"

25. When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried and told how deeply she loved you.
You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.

26. When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby.
You thanked by telling her, "Things are different now."

27. When you were 40, she called to remind you of a relative's birthday.
You thanked her by saying you were "really busy right now."

28. When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her.
You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their children.

29. And then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did, came crashing down like thunder on your heart.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

ARTI SEBUAH NAMA

Jika seseorang punya banyak nama panggilan mungkin akan ada yang menanyakan ‘siapa sih namanya yang benar?’ dan jawaban yang lazim terdengar adalah kalimat, ‘ah, apalah arti sebuah nama.’ Kalimat ini tentu sering aku (anda juga?) dengar.

Sebenarnya di kehidupan sebenarnya, sebuah nama sangat berarti. Dari berbagai segi hal itu masih sangat berarti. Dari segi agama, misalnya, ada anjuran untuk menamai seorang anak dengan nama yang baik. Artinya nama memiliki arti bagi anak (orang) tersebut. Jika tidak, untuk apa memberi nama yang baik?

Ada juga yang mengatakan bahwa nama adalah do’a bagi yang empunya. Katakanlah jika sang anak diberi nama ‘setan’, maka dia terus menerus dipanggil setan dan dido’akan menjadi (pengikut) setan.

Contoh yang lain, seorang teman saya bercerita mengenalkan diri dengan nama berbeda dengan ketika dia masih kuliah, karena teman-teman kampusnya memiliki panggilan khusus untuknya. Ceritanya, ketika dia digoda (dengan dipanggil) menggunakan nama yang dia perkenalkan, dia, teman saya itu tak berani menghadapi orang yang menggodanya. Dia berkata, jika aku masih dipanggil pakai nama ‘moon’ (julukannya ketika kuliah), aku berani mendatangi orang itu.

Dari cerita itu kupikir nama juga membawa efek psikologis pada yang empunya. Jadi masih benarkah kalimat ‘apa arti sebuah nama’? karena jika menurut saya mestinya kalimat itu diganti dengan, “sebuah nama sangatlah berarti bagi yang memilikinya.”

KIRIMAN TERAKHIR

KIRIMAN TERAKHIR”

Kemarin aku terima sebuah wesel,
sedikit uang dan di kolom berita
kutemukan:
aku sudah mati.


Beberapa waktu lalu aku pernah melempar sajak ini
dalam sebuah “forum” kecil, hanya para mahasiswa sekolah
profesi tahun pertama
yang kebetulan
duduk-duduk bersama menunggu waktu pulang

dan interpretasi mereka sungguh menakjubkan
mulai dari
“dia” mengirim wesel kemudian bunuh diri
“dia” berwasiat mengirimkan wesel untuk “aku”
ketika akan meninggal dan sebagainya

ketika itu aku takjub karena tidak
mengira puisi yang aku buat asal jadi
(sebenarnya bukan sungguh-sungguh asal jadi karena
terus terang aku suka puisi itu, meski tidak ada sebuah mediapun
yang bersedia memuatnya!)
itu,
ternyata mendapat tanggapan yang sedemikian “heboh”
bahkan ruang tunggu mendadak ramai tak lagi sepi karena
mereka saling berebutan menjawab

ketika di univ, teman-teman kuliahku yang mengetahui
bagaimana sastra (Indonesia, khususnya) diajarkan di sekolah
berkata saat SMA, para pelajar itu hanya dikenalkan pada karya sastra
belum (baca: bukan) pada interpretasinya.

melihat pada pengalamanku, mengapa tidak diteruskan pada
interpretasi jika mereka (yang ‘baru’ lulus es-em-a) sedemikian
merasa tertarik menginterprtasi ketika kesempatan itu ada
Tentu saja masih dengan gaya mereka….