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Poems on the MRT

Seloka Pujangga Cinta / Ballad of the Love Poet by Samsudin Said

 

Seloka Pujangga Cinta
Samsudin Said

Aku bukan pujangga cinta
merisak kasih di permatang rindu
biar sukma mengemis sayu
raga tidak sedungu berpatuh janji.

Di pelantar tanjung batu ini
buih ombak tidak seputih dulu
menghiasi bait seloka hamparan biru
sinar pelangi di hujung senja
terlarut warnanya
biar hujan tidak tersedu lagi
air matanya bertakung di kawah bumi.

Di pelantar tanjung batu ini
ada gurindam kasih yang terpenjara
mendendangkan senandung purba
gemeresik irama sendu rembulan
pungguk mendesah dalam rintihan
dua jiwa senja
menggamit luka semalam
dalam secangkir madu asmara
berkongsi dahaga
di pelantar tanjung batu ini
bersaksikan pantai bisu

bicaranya tidak lagi sepolos ombak yang meredah
kerana kemarau masih lagi bermaharajalela
samudera lelah membilang sejarah lama
sebatang pohon silam di pinggir
menghitung tanpa pasti
dedaunannya yang terus gugur.

Aku bukan pujangga cinta
mentafsir rindu di awan larat
dalam hela nafas tersekat
rinduku hilang disukat
lemas dalam permatang alam sejagat.

— Diterbitkan dalam Berita Minggu (16 Mei 2010)

Ballad of the Love Poet
Written by Samsudin Said
Translated by Alfian Sa’at

I am not a poet of love
teasing affection on the ridge of yearning
let the soul beg sorrowfully
the body is not so naive as to keep promises.

On the surface of this rocky cape
the wave’s foam is not as white as before
adorning the verses of that blue expanse
the rainbow’s rays at the end of dusk
are leached of their colours
let not the rain ever sob again
its tears pooling in the earth’s craters.

On the surface of this rocky cape
there is a love song that is imprisoned
singing an ancient melody
like the melancholy rhythm of the moon
or an owl sighing in the moaning
of two twilight souls
clutching yesterday’s wounds
in the cup of love’s nectar
sharing their thirst
on the surface of this rocky cape
and observing the silent beach

their speech is no longer as pure as the battering waves
as the drought still rages
the sea is tired of reciting ancient history
an aged tree on the edge
is doubtfully counting
its falling leaves.

I am not a poet of love
interpreting yearning in the patterns of clouds
in my stunted breath
my longing is lost
drowning in the vast ridge of the world.

— Published in Berita Minggu (16 May 2010)

Samsudin Said started writing at the of 15. He had won many awards - Literary Award 1993 (Radio Script), Literary Award 2017 (Poetry) organised by the Singapore Malay Language Council (MBMS), TV scripts in “PESTA PERDANA, Suria, MediaCorp in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017.

He won the Golden Point Award (poetry) in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, Singapore Literature Prize in 2016, 2020 and 2024. His poetry Seorang Perempuan Tua Di Bawah Kolong Jembatan Benjamin Sheares won the Literary Award 2017, organised by NUH-ASAS’50. Currently he is working on his new poetry book, tentatively to be published in 2026.

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Poems on the MRT is an initiative by the National Arts Council, in partnership with SMRT and Stellar Ace. Produced by Sing Lit Station, a local literary non-profit organisation, this collaboration displays excerpts of Singapore poetry throughout SMRT’s train network, integrating local literature into the daily experience of commuters. Look out for poems in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil in trains on the East-West, North-South and Circle Lines, as well as videos created by local artists and featuring local poets in stations and on trains. The Chinese, Malay, and Tamil poems are available in both the original languages and English. To enjoy the full poems, commuters may read them on go.gov.sg/potm.

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