Aku rindu tiba-tiba, pergi ke sana,
pergi lebih jauh ke tepian sungai,
ada perahu di sana berbaris segaris,
bertambatan di galah-galah bambu;
ada mereka menyeberang pagi hari
memanggul mata bacak di pundaknya,
menuju sawah, ada nun jauh di sana;
ada sekawanan sapi membuka kandang
pergi juga ke tepian yang di seberang
ke sana datang, rumput seluas padang;
Lalu senja datang, ketika semua pulang,
tertinggal seekor jakal, melolong jalang,
padang bersemak panjang, d pulau seberang.
Ibu, kuharapkan engkau tidak keberatan,
kelak aku ingin jadi pengemudi perahu itu.
Dan kata mereka, ada danau yang asing
tersembunyi di sebalik tebing sungai itu.
ada sekawanan burung dan bebek liar
datang ketika cuaca reda, hujan berlalu,
alang-alang tumbuh di sekeliling danau,
burung air mengerami telurnya di situ;
ada burung berkik, ekornya menari-nari,
langkah kakinya ringan menjejak di lumpur;
senja tiba, rumput tinggi bermahkota bunga,
putih warnanya, mengundang bulan datang,
berenang mengambang di tari-tari riaknya.
Ibu, kuharapkan engkau tidak keberatan,
kelak aku ingin jadi pengemudi perahu itu.
Kelak aku menyeberang dari tepian ke tepian,
dan lihatlah, Ibu, bocah-bocah itu bermandian,
sambil memandangiku penuh kekaguman.
Ketika matahari memanjat puncak langit,
dan waktu pagi bertukar ke petang hari,
aku kembali pulang ke padamu, Ibu,
seraya berseru, "Ibu, betapa laparnya aku!"
Ketika hari tuntas dan bayangan gemetaran
di bawah pohon, aku kembali di petang hari.
Aku tak akan pernah pergi jauh darimu, Ibu,
pergi jauh ke kota, seperti Ayahku bekerja.
Ibu, kuharapkan engkau tidak keberatan,
kelak aku ingin jadi pengemudi perahu itu.
THE FURTHER BANK
I long to go over there to the further bank of the river,
Where those boats are tied to the bamboo poles in a line;
Where men cross over in their boats in the morning with ploughs
on their shoulders to till their far-away fields;
Where the cowherds make their lowing cattle swim across to the
riverside pasture;
Whence they all come back home in the evening, leaving the
jackals to howl in the island overgrown with weeds,
Mother, if you don't mind, I should like to become the boatman of
the ferry when I am grown up.
They say there are strange pools hidden behind that high bank,
Where flocks of wild ducks come when the rains are over, and
thick reeds grow round the margins where waterbirds lay their
eggs;
'
Where snipes with their dancing tails stamp their tiny footprints
upon the clean soft mud;
Where in the evening the tall grasses crested with white flowers
invite the moonbeam to float upon their waves.
Mother, if you don't mind, I should like to become the boatman of
the ferryboat when I am grown up.
I shall cross and cross back from bank to bank, and all the boys
and girls of the village will wonder at me while they are
bathing.
When the sun climbs the mid sky and morning wears on to noon, I
shall come running to you, saying, "Mother, I am hungry!"
When the day is done and the shadows cower under the trees, I
shall come back in the dusk.
I shall never go away from you into the town to work like father.
Mother, if you don't mind, I should like to become the boatman of
the ferryboat when I am grown up.
