Beside composing poems, I am also translating poetry from Malay to English and vice versa. More often I translated my work but there are also a few of others occasionally. The poem below is one of them.
It is a hard work but it pays off especially when my own translation into English could in turn attract other translaters who bring them to other languages . This is how my poems originally published in dual language Malay/English found their way into Spanish, Russian, French and Japanese. I am especially thankful to Malaysian Institute of Translation and Books (ITBM) for their function and hard work especially in finding publishing partners round the world.
THE WATER FLOWERS
We should learn a lesson
From the
water garden,
from the flowers that never sink
We should
learn
from the lotus
how the muddy stems
hold the flower above
Brilliant and lustrous,
We should all learn
From the water lily
in the water so muddy
keeping white petals
in purity
Our path may be gloomy,
As the river
is sometimes dirty
Let us learn from the water plants
To uphold our
integrity.
Zurinah
Hassan-Malaysia
BUNGA DI KOLAM
Kita sepatutnya belajar
Dari bunga-bunga di kolam
Yang tidak pernah tenggelam.
Kita sepatutnya belajar
Dari kembang teratai
Yang berlumpur di tangkai
Namun tetap terjulang
Dalam warna cemerlang
Kita sepatutnya belajar
Dari kuntum seroja
Yang tumbuh di kasar selut
Dengan kelopak putih lembut
Arus tak selalu tenteram
Sungai tak selalu jernih
Mari belajar dari bunga-bunga di kolam
Untuk mengapung dan bersih
Zurinah Hassan -Malaysia
