Author: violeteye

Gratiagusti Chananya Rompas was born in Jakarta, 19 August 1979. She studied English Literature in Universitas Indonesia, Depok (2003) and received her masters in The Gothic Imagination from University of Stirling, Scotland (2005). She is one of the founders of Komunitas BungaMatahari, a mailing list-based Indonesian poetry community that have embraced many poetry enthusiasts with its catchphrase “semua bisa berpuisi” or, roughly translated, “poetry for all”. She is also involved in Selatan, a literary journal, and Paviliun Puisi, a monthly open mic event--both managed by her and her like-minded friends. She currently resides in Jakarta, trying to find balance between writing and day-to-day living.

keparat

Posted on by violeteye in Bahasa Indonesia, Poetry

nada nadamu adalah cakaran

 

darah

keringat

air mata

 

tetes demi tetes

menunggu

,

menggantung

di tepian luka

 

 

ada yang berkemas
meninggalkan ruang kosong

mencari ujung pelangi
katanya

tetapi hari tak kunjung
hujan dan ia telanjur berangkat

 

dulu aku bahagia tetapi kau lalu datang

terlalu dini aku bernafas lega katamu

sekarang, kau kembali lagi membawa dendam yang
tertunda

 

 

kata katamu adalah goresan

 

darah

keringat

air mata

 

tetes demi tetes

menunggu

,

menggantung

di tepian dada

 

—draft ketiga dan terakhir, 13juli2005

 

 

STRIKE!

Posted on by violeteye in Thoughts

catherine, my flatmate, asked me to go bowling last sunday. i’ve never
bowled before but, hey, there’s always a first time for everything.
besides, a new form of fun wouldn’t hurt when you’re feeling a wee bit
pressurized by your dissertation. so, off we went to the arena.

i was giddy at first. well, i know myself quite well and i know i
really suck at sports, especially ones dealing with balls. and i hate
it when i know i would look stupid doing something i’ve never done
before.

but, i finally took those little steps and let go of the ball.

it glided off..

..and hit one pin.

hahah!!!

it was only after a few turns that i began to get the hang of it. in fact, i
actually enjoyed the game. okay, my ball often went sideways but, really,
sometimes it was good laughing at yourself.

then, on the second game, a miracle happened – i succeeded in hitting
all the pins on one go! mark this, people – exactly at 5 pm on the 26th of june 2005, i did
my very first STRIKE! woo-hoo!!!

the game ended with me trailing behind catherine by 2 points. 2 points! not bad for a beginner, eh?

do do do new hair do

Posted on by violeteye in Thoughts

i went to the hairdresser with my almost waist-length hair and asked to
have it cut. “i want a short crop,” i told the stylist and her eyes
went wide.

“are you sure?”

“yes.”

then she gathered my hair at the back of neck. “but this is a whole ponytail you want to get rid of. are you really sure?”

“yes.”

i actually wanted a crop with lots of choppy layers but my stylist
seemed to be a little blown away by the fact that she was responsible
to cut so much of my hair. she recommended a bob style instead, which
is, of course, less risky. i had to say yes – i didn’t want to force
her to do something that she’s not comfortable with.

well, although it wasn’t something that i had in mind, i’m quite happy
with the haircut. i’ve finally put an end to the almost-four-year
period of long hair, which was the first time ever in my whole life
that i grew my hair longer than my shoulders, and relive the good ol
days.

besides, i really didn’t feel like going on a holiday with those long
tresses of mine. so, when i walked out of the hairdresser, i was in
such a zesty mood – just the perfect feeling to have on a day before
you are to leave your wee town with its now-windy-now-rainy weather,
expecting sunnier days in cities you’ve never been to!