In memoriam: Achdiat Karta Mihardja

Hello,

This is my mom's writing for Aki.

Achdiat Karta Mihardja, one of the great Indonesian writers, has passed away this morning. He left many literature works. The most famous one is “Atheis” a romance, published in 1949. He also wrote drama scripts, short stories, and novel.

I met Achdiat for the first time in last March, to congratulate him on his 99th birthday. He and his wife were in Narrabundah nursing home, Canberra. That meeting inspired me to read his literature works that have been shelved on the third floor of Menzies library, at the Australian National University.

Achdiat is a simple person. His last will is to return to Indonesia before he died, but he didn’t make it. He passed away at Canberra Hospital this morning.

I wrote this poem for him, to remember him, that many people might have forgotten about him.

THE LAST HOPE

The morning sun has embraced
The red sky gave a warm greeting
A weak figure covered with age flake
Lay down frail
That wrinkled face
And a pair of old eyes
Stared at the window

It was the ninety nine times
The green maple leaves
Turned into orange, red and purple
Fell ….. blown away …. scattered on the ground

Almost one hundred years the old figure has sailed
Swayed by the wave, blown by the storm, strived to survive
Created thousand pages of literature work
Brighten up the knowledge, a light that never dies
Yet ….. his glory was at an end
The radiant sun was dimmed
His passion was alive
But his fingers were too weak to write
In Narrabundah, Canberra, Australia, he stopped by
But … he didn’t want to anchor there
A faint voice before his last breath was heard:
“I .. am …..dying …”
“I ...am….. not … a … traitor …”
“I …still .....want … to … contribute ….to … my … country …”
“I …love ... Indonesia …”
“I …want …to … go … back … to … Indonesia …”

Aki, I hope you can hear my poem .... I pray that you will have a good place by His side .... Rest in peace, Aki. You have contributed a lot to your country.