Narrow rough asphalt grey Fences and walls defend snatches of privacy The ting ting ting of meat ball sellers The cacophony enemy of ears from the three wheeler Dryness, then dark downpour Outside rapacious streets gobbling time, time, time Insatiable The whirr of a fan Humm of a laptop Work, maybe
Letter from Jakarta 2011/1: Amin’s Death
Letter from Jakarta 2011/1: Amin’s Death by Max Lane. (Max Lane is 2011 ASIALINK Writer-in-Residence with Majalah Historia and will be visiting Indonesia and Timor Leste several times during 2011.) Really, in hindsight, there was a great deal of beauty in the scene. There was a kaleidoscope of wonderful colours: dark blues and greens, the […]
(Poem?) The dried eel of Indonesia
(Remembering a story from the experiences of Joesoef Isak from 1966 or 1967.) The dried eel of Indonesia. The humidity was from sweat and not the air. The sad singing was the whimpers as they dabbed alcohol on the wounds. The music was the brushing of bodies and clothes against each other in the tiny […]
Palestina Palestine: Poem: THE WALL
WALL Long. Thick. Grey. Dark. Tall. Ugly, dirty, casting cold shadows this wall. Stealing land, stealing rights, stealing life Not damming, but provoking strife It zigs and zags and curls and snakes Land and home and farm, it takes and takes A moat for fortresses defending wealth Perched on hilltops denizens of stealth […]
Sajak sejarah
Kaya. Kaya sekali. Kaya betul. Kaya tak terhingga. Sebab dan akibat berturut-turut menjelma menjadi asal-usul. Jalan balik ikuti peristiwa tak juga ke tujuan final akan singgah Orang dan peristiwa, perkembangan dan aksi, perubahan selalu menyusul. Kaya. Kaya sekali. Kaya betul. Kekayaan tak terbayang. Ummat manusia memiliki masa lalu, diketahui menjadi sejarah Sejarah membuka asal usul […]
Sajak Tabik
Bungkuk, bungkuk, bungkuk tambal ban Jari hindar jarum duduk berjam-jam bahu menegang Biji, insektisida, pupuk kecapekan hasilkan makanan Kapur diatas papan mendidik, map dan formulir melancarkan logistik Las nyala, truk terisi, eletroknik dirakit, barang keluar pabrik Tangan bergandeng, bertemu di lapangan, mata satu arah: tabik!
Sajak (kecil) Nulis
kosong bolong bengong iseng linglung pusing bingung mikir payah parah marah nulis
Sajak peringatan diri si pengamat
Sajak peringatan diri si pengamat Pantat bersatu dengan kursi Mata ngelem pada monitor Jari dengan keyboard berfusi Cyber realitas mulai menentukan T.O.R. Melbourne, April, 2010
MUSIC: sombre tones of music like the suffering and “dark history” of Pramoedya and his works
The Australian newspaper has carried a report on the Singapore MAX LANE. “Johari likens the sombre tones of his music to the suffering and “dark history” of Pramoedya and his works”. It is in its January 27 issue and the article is entitled “New act plays to the Max“.
Film Review: the miracle of AVATAR
According to Miranda Devine, one of Australia’s loony right newspaper commentators, watching AVATAR felt like being “hit with a leftie sledgehammer”. It appears that in America too, the loony right has been severely irked by the immense popularity of James Cameron’s epic hi-tech science fiction film. Devine tips her hat to the talent involved in […]
MAX LANE ONLINE 