Light from Tuban Land

You are come from Tubewithout sound,
your eyes speak Stars:
soldier at gunpoint,
standing among dust and mass
melting in the evening, settling in the chest.
I wait for you on the bed of wounds,
your body is steel and mighty earth.

Like Ronggolawe who prays
Without giving up life, without ceasing.
Majapahit is fragile, you say
but the spirit never fades.
Losing is just breaking
eternal war on the horizon.

You give a story without a frame
Ronggolawe never went home crying
but the caress of a horse that cut through the air
shaking the earth with steps of fire.

My pain, you say
not the end written by fate.
It’s just a small wave
in the endless ocean.
It is not a government that is declining
or a fortress battered by wild winds
Only the body learns
knowing the light in the fading darkness.

I hear you without a sound
behind your eyes, I see Ronggolawe standing as a guard:
voiceless power
courage that needs no name.

Now I understand—
pain is a long step
not shackles that penetrate deep.
We are all in our bodies ready to face
even if the storm comes
without fear in the dark that is lit.

You show me a path without lines
where Ronggolawe ran without crying
and I know now
from Tuban you teach me to stand
remain surrendered at their feet.

Bandung, 26 October 2024

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