I found ‘shared-wits’ can be an interesting activity. It happened recently when I posted something related to music; its rhymed verses and ‘musicalized’ versions of poems (henceforth, musical poem) in one of my online social media. Technically, these musical versions of the poem are musical and lyrical compositions sung from the poem verses (normally taken from well-noted poets). Since I am interested in thematic, lyrical verses and music, I sometimes turn my ears to these poem songs.

I’ve been reading and trying to write poems all these times. I also listen to poems and some musical versions, such as ‘Kuda Putih’ album by Tan Lioe Ie (and friends) who use Umbu Landu Paranggi’s poems. Notably, I love the musical and lyrical composition songs, like ‘Tujuh Cemara’, ‘Kuda Putih’, ‘Gemuruh Laut’, etc. I met Tan Lioe Ie earlier and I am pretty much impressed by his deep dedication to literary works. Recently, I listen to ‘Gadis Kecil’ album taken from Sapardi Djoko Damono’s poems and several other songs. ‘Gadis Kecil’, ‘Kuhentikan Hujan’, ‘Ketika Jari-jarinya Terluka’, ‘Sehabis Hujan’, ‘Metamorfosis’, ‘Buat Ning’, ‘Kartu Pos Bergambar Jembatan Golden Gate San Fransisco’, ‘Pada Suatu Hari Nanti’, ‘Dua Ibu’, and ‘Hujan dalam Komposisi’ are several to mention. They are so deeply internalized, when both read or sung. I know well, to sense the emotions of literary works, especially poems, we have to ‘get involved’ into the writer’s emotion. And this is not easy. Many times, these types of works present you pragmatic as well as semiotic parts that you have to interpret deeply, moving beyond normal standards. And it could be challenging as well as enjoyable, at least for me.

Regarding with the title, this ‘poem’ my friend and I created was from conversing ‘the natures and, probably our awaited meeting’ into lyrical verses. He tried to start his verse, “… dan apa kabarmu sahabat? Sekian waktu di timur samudera, semoga senyuman selalu bersamamu.” I then continued, “… dan angin kini membawaku, membawamu berkelana, menjejak perut dunia, berkelakar di dunia nyata maya… semoga sahabat terbaik selalu ada.” He then replied, “Hanya secarik kata dari monitor yang mengantarkan rinduku. Senang menyapamu kembali. Kutunggu ceritamu disini, berbagi bersama bumi yang mengajari kita tersenyum.” I then again replied, “Secarik Sepatah kata takkan pernah memasung makna, bumi dan langit pasti bawa cerita, padamu, pada dunia.”

It was meant for self-enjoyment, I supposed, but as I said earlier, this is interesting. We never know where it will go and end; we wander in endless words to play. For a flash moment, I thought this could also be applied in the class to trigger students to express their thoughts and ideas – as it is popularly used in chain game – in particular appropriate contexts.

W: … dan apa kabarmu sahabat? Sekian waktu di timur samudera, semoga senyuman selalu bersamamu
M: … dan angin kini membawaku, membawamu berkelana, menjejak perut dunia, berkelakar di dunia nyata maya… semoga sahabat terbaik selalu ada
W: Hanya secarik kata dari monitor yang mengantarkan rinduku. Senang menyapamu kembali. Kutunggu ceritamu disini, berbagi bersama bumi yang mengajari kita tersenyum
M: Sepatah kata takkan pernah memasung makna, bumi dan langit pasti bawa cerita, padamu, pada dunia

Sahabat setia tak pernah lupa, sahabat dunia pasti kujaga