Save Us from Nightmares – Mark Bowling

As the sun was rising, I felt a gentle breeze blowing in from the sea. From a hilltop high over Jimbaran Bay, I watched the first light pour across the rooftops of tourist hotels and resort pavilions that dot the shoreline all the way to Kuta Beach and beyond. Surely this is paradise, I considered. Or at least it once was.

I walked through a cave-like entrance into a huge amphitheatre carved out of the limestone hillside. The sheer

Ia menjawab bahwa martini dikarantina dari ironi sebab harus ada bagian hidup kita yang bebas dari ironi. Dia memilih martini.

‘Tentu, ada lelucon tentang martini,’ katanya, ‘namun buat apa buang-buang waktu membicarakannya secara ironis? Seisi dunia selainnya bisa dibicarakan secara ironis. Itu cukup. Dan satu lagi, bila kau mencoba membicarakan martini secara ironis, ia akan menggulung ironi itu ke dalamnya.’

Aku sudah menyampaikan meditasiku tentang martini –

Meditations on the Martini – Frank Moorhouse

The esoteric discussions and stories and folklore around the martini cocktail are a pathway.

They are a pathway into conversation with a stranger in a bar – the martini sponsors fellowship, and fellowship and storytelling are the only solace from existential terror.

I once asked my friend Voltz whether the martini can ever be drunk ironically.

He replied that the martini was quarantined from irony because there had to be one

Pengungsi Siap-Siap Berangkat

Helen Pavlin

Di sebuah rumah
Tak ada selamat tinggal yang terucap,
tak ada visa yang dicari,
tak boleh tampak seperti pergi,
tak boleh tinggalkan jejak.
Bawa apa?
Pakaian upacara pemberian nama
untuk anak yang belum lahir, tentunya.

Di rumah lain
Bom jatuh semakin dekat.
Tiba kabar mereka sebaiknya berangkat.
Bawa apa?
Mereka melihat ke sekitar.
“Aku akan menggantung cucian,” katanya.
Kali pertama dalam hidupnya
si suami ikut

Refugees Prepare for Departure

Helen Pavlin

In one household
No goodbyes to be said,
no visas to be obtained,
mustn’t look like travelling,
mustn’t leave a trail.
What to take?
The Christening robe
for the unborn child, of course.

In another household
The bombs were falling closer.
Word came that they should go.
What to take?
They looked around.
“I’m going to hang the washing out,” she said.
For the first time in his life,
he helped her.

Time to go.
They looked