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There is
an immense relief
and an eye-opening belief
in the saying:
To be the light,
you need not
to be a friend of a star
and brighten its fame.
Start becoming
the candle’s flame
in the midst of the dark
and burn the galaxy
into yours.
Author: Agnes Seraphine
Editor: Sitti Aminah Intan Utami, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)
Illustrator: Ajeng Suci Hati
I still remember the time when I first saw you
A divine human being that could rival gods and goddesses
Maybe that was why you were placed in this rotten world.
Such speed and agility you have could make Hermes mad
Such beauty and grace you have could make Aphrodite fumed with jealousy
Such brightness and warmth you have could not compare to Apollo himself.
I will always follow you and protect you in this rotten world.
More importantly, I will always love you, divine or not.
It was not my intention to make you wept, my dearest.
Don’t dirty yourself with my merely mortal self. Let go of my body. Let go of my soul.
For then I could be with you when the time has come for us to be reunited.
Our path of lovers was covered by the devotion of lavenders
And such things should not be withered by our suffering.
I will wait for you on our path of lovers…
But then,
From the moment you took my hand
I recognized you all at once.
I still remember the first time I saw you
Now a mere mortal, a kind human being with a giddy smile
Who rang my name so gently like it was a delicate hope.
I recognized you all at once.
I recognized you from the way you laughed
You’d always burst out laughing with one hand covering your mouth.
I recognized you from the way you walked
From the graceful and confident sounds of your footsteps.
I recognized the way you interacted with people
You always listened to them, giving all your attention to them
And your eyes would not break away.
I recognized you from your scent
A clean soap, with a hint of fresh mint from your shampoo
I recognized you from your touch
From the way you tenderly caressed my skin.
Such brightness, warmth, beauty, and grace…
Long I have been waiting for you on our path of lovers.
Long I have been waiting for the time we finally meet in a field of lavenders.
But even if we finally meet again in a different world
With different names, bodies, minds, and manners
I knew that it was you all along
And I still love you either way, divine or not.
For what is the purpose of having a divine self, if we do not feed our hearts with love and compassion?
Author: Kenar Syalaisha Kanayana
Editor: Nanda Pratama Putera Tomasila, Vonna Meisya Saputra(QC)
Illustrator: Ajeng Suci Hati
The wind of youth breezed in softly
Accompanied the flower buds that screamed loudly
“My time has come!
Let the efflorescences arrive!”
All of the immaturity swayed away
Let the sleepers revived
The harbinger of spring had been burgeoned
A single bud appeared shyly
There it was, the white one
Showed its buds tenderly
Oh, the snowdrops!
As white as the clouds
As verdurous as grasses
People said she was a warrior
Bearing the winter in solitude
A child of Demeter
Sister of Persephone
Her arrival was like a bell
Echoing the fall of winter
Bending her petal
Her smiles tender
Author: Dulce Cicilia Sariri
Editor: Yohana Satvika Wahyuveda, Ruth Tirza Arina (QC)
I close my eyes
When all I want is to cry
But I lost my voice
Tryna take a real breath
Unspoken words
They don’t understand
Want to take a walk back
But nothing feels like home
“It’ll pass,” they say
But only can they say
‘Cause they don’t see my pain
Only I know my pain
Tell me it’s alright
When this world doesn’t seem bright
In my endless night
Will you grant me the light?
Author: Erica Rafaella
Editor: Desca Geovani Kristi, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)
Illustrator: Ajeng Suci Hati
Stealthily, the time is sneaking
Performing its duty
On the art of killing
Murdering beauty
Time is a beast
Damaging the most divine sculpture
Decaying the beauty
Of a spoiled figure
Time is not our friend
For devouring one’s youth
And fading our spirits
While stealing away our soul
Like a mere candle
The longer you shine, the sooner you dim
The best thinker will get wrinkles
Soon enough, their ideas are killed
We fear the inevitable
For we must abide
In the rule of time
Once it’s corrupted our age
Author: Valentina Pascalia
Editor: Desca Geovani Kristi, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)
Illustrator: Angelita Dayang Diva
(TRIGGER WARNING)
The silent ambience of the void is blooming
Voices in my head starts to be gloomy
Thy voices starts rumbling
Preventing me from feeling your beauty
I am one with the void
True ego suffers for no one
I am the one you can’t avoid
True menace saving no one
Clarity after clarity I’ve been through
Sanity after sanity I’ve seen through
But all I found is just a liability
Do I really have the capability?!
It feels like everything is nihil
Pointless, pointless, and pointless
It feels like I’m in denial
Reckless, reckless, and reckless
I just want to swim inside of you
The void, that I worship
I just want to be inside of you
Voices, that I perceive
Maybe, just maybe, I can be happy
Leaving my soul, drowning with me
Deep in silence or where should I be?
Maybe, just maybe, I can just sleep in eternity.
Hang
Hang
….
Author: Sultan Mahesadewa
Editor: Yohana Satvika Wahyuveda, Ruth Tirza Arina (QC)
Illustrator: Kenar Syalaisha Kanayana
This is NOT a shout out
for not sleeping
seven days in a row
and still surviving.
This is an anti yes
for eating a meal
only once a day
and still standing strong.
This is an insult
for faking your strength
in the midst of chaos
where you deserve a break
down.
Author: Agnes Seraphine
Editor: Siti Aminah Intan Utami, Ruth Tirza Arina (QC)
Illustrator: Betsy Mariana Agoha
Wake up with things in the right place
Hear a clunk of stuff from downstairs
Sounds so busy I wonder
Turns out it is my lover
I realize, they just ran a marathon
Calling me over to eat some croutons
Their sweat, the kitchen mess, and the breakfast they baked
It clicks to me as my sleepiness fades
We eat some and hang out
Out for a date, just us two
Forgetting there are others in this world
Since my mind is enticed with the thought of being with you
Having our favorite lunch at our favorite place
Then out for some desserts and games
Strolling around the grocery aisle
Until suddenly, we’ve had heaps of items
That we unconsciously took for each other
Because we know what each other like
We get home and magically turn the groceries into dinner.
Just joking, we cook it, of course, together
And eat it, also together
As we play our music
And have a conversation that I cherish
That’s my perfect day
It’s filled with you
Because you sound romantic
You feel romantic
You that is yet to become my reality
But at least for now, I can picture it
How it went inside my film reel mind
With each minute, not being wasted
Waiting for this scene to be played
As it is, after all, my perfect day
Author: Gregorius Beryl S.S.
Editor: Siti Aminah Intan Utami, Ruth Tirza Arina (QC)
Illustrator: Ajeng Suci Hati
When the sky looms in darkness
When mind lost all its sharpness
With madness rampant within
Up and down I see myself,
Hold a familiar sight of garbage in the bin.
Here I lie alone,
As water running through my cheekbone
I said to myself, I am weak,
Nothing I ought to seek
Is not worth as much as an antique
NAY! I hear In surprise,
Open hand reaching through the sky
Bringing light which I can rely,
NAY! I say in loud,
In here I stand to vowed
Promise not to bowed
Against the world shrouded in cloud
Author: Wijasena Aji Pratama
Editor: Fransiskus Nino Boby Laksono (QC)
Illustrator: Bedita
On behalf of the old Heaven,
I woke from a deep slumber.
I plunged into the freezing-flowing river.
I smelled the fragrance of the whitish walls, the brownish planks, and the greenish plants.
Tastes of the old heaven, for the last time.
Bygone is the presence of guidance.
Bygone are the times of gleefulness.
Bygone is the archaic self-of-me.
Bygone are the heralds of great feasts.
Bygone is the old heaven.
Here I am, now, gazing into the new void.
Uncoloured, with a splash of cold, jagged aura surging.
Unknowns of grand-scale looming.
Time sides with its own ending.
I see neither comfort nor heaven.
Here, the safe rectangle of despondency.
Here, I rest my old beings.
Here, a reverie of I, flourish.
Still, the fragments of old heaven stand tall.
I remember, and will always remember.
On behalf of the old heaven
I will craft a new heaven.
I will smear anew the void.
Woe to the thoughts that belittle me.
For I will, on behalf of the new heaven, walk with valour.
Author: Abiel Merari / 214214177
Editor: Desca Geovani Kristi, Cherry Larissa Hendranata (QC)
Illustrator: Betsy Mariana Agoha