Bless Yourself, Damn Yourself

Bless yourself

with excellent work, good works.

Damn yourself

with poor work, evil works.

The Golden Days In Childhood

How nice, how free it is to perch as a bird on a tree. 

Every time he fishes in a creek, a river or a lake, just catching the smallest fish is so exciting.

Eating unripe or any other fruit which he has shot with his catapult is so sweet.

Seeing the living, breathing light of a firefly perching or flying as a shooting star is so enchanting, so wonderful.

Hearing the chirping seriringan cricket in a box is sweeter than even an angel’s song.

Then watching, following a squirrel, a wood pigeon, a circling hawk, a chameleon, a fresh water turtle,

catch a tree-spider, a scorpion, chase after dragonflies, yu-yu or fresh water crabs, climb and see a nest with baby birds, watching cricket fights, …

or have es cincao, iced jelly-like pudding from cincau leaves

or es gantung, snowballed ice with syrup on a stick,

fly kites, play gasing, a spinning toy that’s whipped with a cord,

play congklak, a canoe-like playing board of wood with two times seven holes filled with seashells,

having a camp fire out of collected waste of dry leafs, then roasting ground nuts or ketela (cassava) in its ashes, Hm, Hm,

or keep, take care of chickens, fishes, a rabbit, a squirrel, … What a joy.

Such were the golden days, the golden hours in childhood in the thirties.

From Jayakarta, June 1, 1992