Indonesia.... Poem by Sylvia Frances Chan

Independence Day of Indonesia
my homeland

with melancholy
I remember this day

why with melancholy?

since I now know my resident better
than the place where I was born

Jakarta is a super-mega capital, bigger than that!
so many millions of people live there
each time when I return to this birthplace
I don't see anything that strikes me
that is typical of my hometown,
only my parental home,

did I move too young?
My brilliant brother still lives there
tropical heat is what he likes

I am more of a person who likes coolness,
but no coldness!

My heart is warm and welcoming
you can't see that
that's why I say it

then you can see that
the kindness comes from my heart
and flows out spontaneously
like a warm glow in this sometimes cool summer

Republic of Indonesia, I wish you wholeheartedly
on this Independence day
My humble and polite wishes to Ir. Joko Widodo and his great family
The coolest president ever! May God grant him and his family a long life

Indonesia, may you forever excel in God and glory
and The Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, the most beautiful symbol of Indonesia,
so many languages and dialects but each inhabitant can understand the other
Every citizen throughout Indonesia does speak the Bahasa Indonesia.
There's Unity in Diversity.
Where on earth you can find such a peaceful country?

I have learned the Bahasa Indonesia from my nanny
Since I was a toddler till I go to Basic-school
The rest I learned from my dear parents and from school

Republik Indonesia, dikau Merdeka! (this I don't translate)

© Sylvia Frances Chan
A.D.17 August 2020
Independence DAY of Indonesia
MERDEKA! (FREE!)