Dian Febrianti

on translating Sapardi Djoko Damono

The poem “Aku Ingin” symbolizes a deep feeling experienced by an individual that is so beautiful and high beyond words. That person cannot describe those words in a material essence, like her physical beauty, her humor, or her smile, so he uses personification to describe how much he is willing to sacrifice for the person that he loves. I think this is fantastic; how else can a person describe an indescribable feeling?

I understand what makes many Indonesians love this poem: they can see themselves in this short work. Our beloved one is not always a perfect person that we can measure by material standards, but instead by what she is doing every day. Different from the western concept of falling in love, traditional Indonesians believe that love is not something that we fall into, but rather something that we build.

The reason why I chose this poem is its simplicity yet deep meaning. This poem is very popular among Indonesians. You often see this poem in Indonesian wedding invitations. The tradition of putting poems on wedding invitations might not be normal in other countries. Isn’t it lovely to introduce something cultural in one area, yet people from all over the world can understand, enjoy, and relate?

Since this is a simple poem that is written with common expressions, I don’t sacrifice much in meaning. Compromises that I make are more on the aspect of rhythm. There is a rhythm pattern of each sentence’s last word. The first and second paragraphs start with the same sentence: “Aku ingin mencintaimu dengan sederhana.” The next sentence is always followed by a word that ends in the same vowel, like the vowel “u” in kayu and abu in the first paragraph, and the vowel “a” in awan and tiada in the second paragraph.