Adieu

I look at myself in a mirror,

But not to go to a feast.

That face ravaged by wounds,

Whose is it?

I hear an immense clamor,

Coming from my heart?

Or isn’t it just the passing wind?

Yet another song

Echoes in the sightless night.

Ah.............................!!!

Around me everything thickens, freezes,

And I no longer recognize anything.

Adieu........................!!!

July 12, 1943

Chairil Anwar
after the French translation of Louis-Charles Damais