Longing and Questions

Yusuf Achmad

I stand between two doors,
Gazing at clear light merging,
The door opens pages of longing,
A gate adorned with colors dancing in my yearning.

Coloring every question,
When will longing arrive,
Will it end soon?
Day, until the sun heats again,
Night, until the moon rounds again.

Day and night are my longing,
Flooding all time,
Questions of when,
Never-ending,
Never answered later.

Pursuing the question of when,
Reaching for the word later,
This is my longing for you,
For questions and conclusions.

Like dry water in Pegirian river,
My thirst stings into my chest,
Like a baby nursing its mother,
I won’t let go, for longing is never satisfied.

Like the question why,
Oh longing for a lover,
Not complete with just an answer,
For longing needs how,
Not just the question why.

Surabaya, 20-8-2021