EDEN ROCK, a poem by Charles Causley

(translated into Bahasa Indonesia by Hendragunawan S. Thayf)

They are waiting for me somewhere beyond Eden Rock:
My father, twenty-five, in the same suit
Of Genuine Irish Tweed, his terrier Jack
Still two years old and trembling at his feet.

My mother, twenty-three, in a sprigged dress
Drawn at the waist, ribbon in her straw hat,
Has spread the stiff white cloth over the grass.
Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light.

She pours tea from a Thermos, the milk straight
From an old H.P. sauce-bottle, a screw
Of paper for a cork; slowly sets out
The same three plates, the tin cups painted blue.

The sky whitens as if lit by three suns.
My mother shades her eyes and looks my way
Over the drifted stream. My father spins
A stone along the water. Leisurely,

They beckon to me from the other bank.
I hear them call, 'See where the stream-path is!
Crossing is not as hard as you might think.'

I had not thought that it would be like this.

***
 
[Karang Aden]

mereka menungguku di suatu tempat di atas sana
selewat Karang Aden: ayahku, dua puluh lima,
berbalutkan baju wol Irlandia yang sama, dan anjingnya
Jack, baru dua tahun umurnya, mengigil di kakinya

ibuku, dua tiga, dengan gaun berenda,
berlipit di pinggang, topi jerami berpita,
atas rumputan, ia hamparkan kain putihnya
rambutnya gandum ranum, berlimpah cahaya

Ia tuangkan teh dari termos, susu juga
dicurah dari botol bekas saus, yang tutupnya
pilinan kertas; perlahan ia menata
tiga piring kaleng, tiga muk biru warnanya

maka langit berkilau seolah tiga surya
menyala bersama, tangan Ibu menudungi matanya
menatapku di seberang arus bergelora
Ayah, melempari sungai dengan kerikil, berleha

dengan santai mereka melambaiku dari tepi sana
kudengar suara mengarahkanku, 'perhatikan di mana
alur-arusnya ada! menyeberang tak sesukar kau duga.'

ah, tak pernah terpikir akan begini adanya.

*** 

(catatan: Eden, diterjemahkan ke Aden, salah satu nama surga yang dalam bahasa Arabnya: 'jannatun adnin' )