Saunir Saun’s Bilingual Poem: “At the Threshold of the Year”

At the Threshold of the Year

Poem by Saunir Saun

Translated (Indonesian-English) by Leni Marlina
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I watch the clock on my wall.
Ten minutes to eleven—
late enough for an aging body
to negotiate with sleep,
to risk wakefulness
as a minor wager against time.

I wish only to see
the old year, 2025,
exhaust itself,
and the new one, 2026,
enter without announcement.
Not because the moment has form—
I know it does not.
I wish only to mark it
in the language of hours:
when the long hand
slides past the short,
and midnight opens
like a quiet sentence
beginning again.

I know this night will pass
as all year’s endings do—
without spectacle,
without revelation,
without anything demanding
to be remembered.

The new year need not be met
in streets filled with noise,
with voices rising
only to vanish by morning.
It may arrive at home—
over grilled fish,
over a simple fire
that warms more than it dazzles.

Or it may come
through a slow walk with family,
beyond the city’s edge,
where togetherness is unhurried
and the earth offers beauty
without applause.

A year does not ask
to be welcomed with excess,
nor with risks that summon harm.
Its turning is invisible.
Why then insist
on ceremony?

The passage from old to new
is known only by the clock—
by the brief alignment
of its hands,
touching without affection,
without farewell,
perhaps without recognition.

They meet,
then separate.
Nothing more.

And no one, it seems,
is disappointed.
_

My Home, Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Just before midnight,
December 31st, 2025.

About the Poet – Saunir Saun

Saunir Saun is a retired lecturer from the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang, and former Vice-Rector of Universitas Muhammad Yamin, Solok, West Sumatra.
He was honored as the Prolific Poet of the Year 2023 by the Sumatra branch of the SatuPena Writers’ Organization. Known for his profound literary contributions, Saunir has authored the poetry collection Goresan Puisi di Hari Tua (“Poetic Etchings in Old Age”) and the novel Lelaki yang Berhijrah (“The Man Who Migrated”).

Beyond these, Saunir Saun has published seven volumes of the acclaimed series 55 Puisi-Puisi Berhikmah (Poems of Wisdom, Volumes 1–7). Hundreds of his poems remain unpublished, a testament to a lifetime of ceaseless poetic creation and dedication to capturing the human spirit, memory, and the soul of his homeland.

—

About the Translator: Leni Marlina:

Leni Marlina was born in Baso, Agam, West Sumatra, and is currently based in Padang, Indonesia. She is a poet, writer, and senior lecturer in the English Literature Program at the Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang, where she has taught since 2006.
Her recent publications include the single-author poetry collections The Beloved Teachers (2025) and L-BEAUMANITY: Love, Beauty, and Humanity (2025), as well as the English Stories for Literacy trilogy (2024–2025). In addition to poetry, she actively writes short stories, essays, literary criticism, and reviews, and is deeply engaged in translating literary and journalistic texts.
In recognition of her contributions to literature and literacy, Marlina received the Best Writer Award 2025 from SatuPena West Sumatra at the 3rd International Minangkabau Literary Festival (IMLF-3), the ACC International Literary Prize 2025 from the ACC Shanghai Huiyu International Literary Creative Media Centre, and an international literary recognition from The Rhythm of Vietnam community (2025).
Since 2025, she has been officially appointed as the Indonesian Poetry Ambassador for the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association (ACC SHILA) and concurrently serves as the ASEAN Director for ACC SHILA Poets. In the same year, she was entrusted by the Capital Writers International Foundation as National Director (Indonesia) for the Panorama International Literary Festival (PILF), held in India from January to February 2026.
(Festival information: www.panoramafestival.org)

—
Indonesian Version:

Melihat Batas Tahun

Puisi: Saunir Saun

_

Kulihat jam dindingku
Sudah pukul sebelas kurang sepuluh
Sudah terhitung sangat malam juga untuk orang tua seperti aku
Untuk bertahan belum tidur sampai pukul itu
Bisa berisiko bagi kesehatanku

Aku hanya ingin melihat habisnya tahun “lama” 2025
Dan datangnya tahun baru 2026
Bukan aku tidak tahu bahwa tidak akan ia kelihatan
Aku hanya ingin melihatnya pada jarum panjang jamku
Tergelincir setelah berdempet dengan jarum pendeknya
Tengah malam ini sebagai penanda mulainya tahun baru

Aku tahu bahwa malam ini akan berlalu
Seperti akhir tahun di waktu-waktu lalu
Tanpa ada keistimewaan yang terjadi
Yang perlu diperhati

Menyambut tahun baru tidak perlu turun ke jalan
Berteriak dan bersorak bersama teman-teman
Ia bisa dilakukan di rumah sendiri
Memasak ikan bakar atau barberque

Atau berjalan-jalan bersama keluarga
Ke suatu tempat di luar kota
Sambil menikmati kebersamaan
Dan menikmati keindahan alam

Menyambut tahun baru bukanlah dengan hura-hura
Apalagi yang berisiko datangkan petaka
Padahal pergantian tahun itu tak ‘kan tampak jua
Lantas kenapa dibuat istinewa?

Perpindahan tahun dari lama ke baru
Hanya diketahui dari jam penunjuk waktu
Dengan perpindahan jarum panjangnya
Setelah berdempet dengan jarum pendeknya seketika

Berdempet sebentar saja
Tanpa embel-embel mesra dengan kata-kata
Atau dengan cara apa saja
Barangkali tidak pula saling sapa
Namun, tak ada yang kecewa tampaknya.

–
Rumahku, (hampir tengah malam), 31 Desember 2025.

Tentang Penyair: Saunir Saun

Saunir Saun merupakan pensiunan Dosen Departemen Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris, FBS, Universitas Negeri Padang dan Mantan Wakil Rektor Universitas Muhammad Yamin, Solok – Sumbar. Penulis dianugerahi penghargaan Penyair Prolifik Tahun 2023 dari Organisasi Penulis SatuPena Sumbar. Penulis juga dikenal dengan salah satu bukunya yang berjudul “Goresan Puisi di Hari Tua” dan novel “Lelaki yang Berhijrah”. Selain itu ia sudah menulis
7 buku kumpulan puisi berjudul 55 Puisi-Puisi Berhikmah (jilid 1-7) dan masih ada ratusan judul puisi yang belum dibukukan.

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