Kabar Sukacinta

This poem compilation consists of fifty-five poems which are divided into two big groups. Interestingly, the title of the first group is “Blessing in Silence” as if it is a word play from a popular phrase known by English speakers that is “Blessing in Disguise”. While this first group has 26 poems with various titles, the second group has 24 poems under a topic of love as a universal religion. The first poem of the first group entitled “Quiet Memo” only has six lines. In fact, those six lines create a deep meaning. It is started with a provocative statement which is able to attract readers’ curiosity. Readers’ curiosity is then maintained until the end of the poem. The poem ends with a strong statement that invites readers to ponder more. After reading the poem for the first time, unconsciously I read it again and stopped reading it for a while to continue reading it for the third time. The words are simple but they also have a deep meaning. The meaning can also be drawn from the second poem, the poet shows the beauty of a simple activity that is fishing. He connects and compares the silent moment with the act of praying. Through reading this poem, prayer is not about the choice of words, the number of words or its arrangement. Prayer is more than words and the poet shares one of other alternatives. Silence also becomes a center theme in the fourth poem. The one that attracts my attention more is the silent moment when a mom loses her newborn baby right after delivering it. The poet does not even have any sad word nor mentions one but he creates a tense gloomy atmosphere through this poem. The state of silence also appears in the rests of 21 poems. The ninth poem that Joko Pinurbo has created includes Beethoven’s Fur Elise. It tells a story of a boy who plays it in the dawn time. Yet, he also shows the silence which occurs. The piano tuts are the boy’s ribs that create some tones because of his cough and are connected to the internationally well-known Beethoven’s arrangement. Both local and international scopes are presented in this poem. Not only international and local dimensions, the thing that is closely attached to humans is spotlighted. In the next poem, the relation between humans and their shadows is described. It symbolizes loyalty in the presence of silence. The loyalty of the body and the shadow in a form of prayer. Indeed, many Joko Pinurbo’s poems share many forms of prayer differently. Both the tenth and the eleventh poems have a similarity in form of prayer as one of the themes. However, the prayer in the eleventh poem is different since it evokes multiple meanings of the word “Amin”. Under the title “Bend”, the poet shares how humans slip into some bends during the moment of praying. “Amin” can be both a word in the end of a prayer and a representative of a person in the end of the poem. The next two poems still underline the act of praying. The poem entitled “prayer for those who do not know what to say” portrays the reality when someone is confused, stuck, bewildered, or hopeless. Not many words are written, even there are many dots that represent a rounded mind. Still, it ends with a touching statement. In line with previous poem, the thirteenth poem clearly represents a condition when a person prays using many flowery words. However, the positive side of one left word, that is “Amin”, is conveyed. The descriptions of priests, sisters and some important events in the church are portrayed uniquely in the rest poems of the first group. A priest who also feels alone, a priest who only has four things in his life, Sister Mary who sacrifices a lot (ironically, a person does not realize that he takes an advantage of sister’s kindness), a sister who struggles with the cosmetic advertisement, Hail Mary as a hello, Christmas’ story, good Friday, Easter’s story, well as a symbol of God’s love, the chalice, Easter’s Egg, and the day of Christmas are ‘told’ using a distinctive perspective that has not been viewed before. While the first group mostly discusses Christianity, the second group contains the portrayal of another religion together with Indonesian culture. In addition, the poet also has covid 19 as a theme of some poems. The first poem is related to the Ramadhan month when Muslim people are fasting and trying to die out humans’ bad desire. In this poem, the poet tries to deliver his personal will to have his own time although he also realizes that he can be the light for those who are in need. In the second poem, he tries to evoke humans’ childhood memory through series of events including the moment when Ramadhan takes place. A poem entitled “Gifts” shares a busy activity in the cemetery when ‘receiving’ different kinds of corps. The poet in this poem in a pleasing way has words taken from other ‘distinctive feature’ poets. Furthermore, the poem ends in a positive way. A poem on page 57 can arise many interpretations. It describes a simple activity of a mom who cooks omelet for her children. There is no presence of the word father and its description but readers can know the mother’s tears in that omelet. Pandemic as the title can be the clue and it seems that the poem can be read effortlessly. Surprisingly, the time of second reading or third, readers can find the mother’s sadness including her strength to keep on living for her children. The next five poems put pandemic as the main theme. Under a tile “Pieta”, readers are invited to enter both a hospital and a church. To me, I can imagine the pieta of Mary with a young daughter on her lap after his sacrifice. On the contrary, the poem entitled “Ambulances” underlines an irony of an ambulance sound with the reality of lateness and neglection. Not to forget, a life of a son who lost his father in a poem entitled “legacy”. The poet’s critical side is also shown in “Breath”. It reminds readers to a real condition when people could not oxygen during covid pandemic. Many of us are still anxious and some of us are still stressful after experiencing the pandemic of covid 19. Joko Pinurbo’s poems encourage us to see from.