Are You Still Playing Your Flute? - by Zurinah Hassan

Are you still playing your flute?
When there is hardly time for our love
I am feeling guilty
To be longing for your song
The melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bamboo
Uncovered by the breath of an artist
Composed by his fingers
Blown by the wind
To the depth of my heart

Are you still playing your flute?
In the village so quiet and deserted
Amidst the sick rice fields
While here it has become a luxury
To spend time watching the rain
Gazing at the evening rays
Collecting dew drops
Or enjoying the fragrance of flowers

Are you still playing your flute?
The more it disturbs my conscience
to be thinking of you
in the hazard of you
my younger brothers unemployed and desperate
my people disunited by politics
my friends slaughtered mercilessly
this world is too old and bleeding

NOTE

In the Ministry of Education's A Collection of Poems and Short Stories(2009), the words field (stanza 1) and friend are given in the singular form; the plural form should be used.

Here are some questions for you to practice. Try answering them; I'll insert the answers later. 

1.      What is the musical instrument made of ?

A.               A. flute

B.               B. bamboo

C.               C.    melody

            You can find the answer in line 5 of the first stanza: The melody concealed in the slim hollow of the
            bamboo. 
   
             2. Who are the two personae?

A.              A, A man and his flute.

B.              B. A man and a woman.

C.              C.  A woman and her flute.     

            The main persona is a woman who is talking to her beloved, the flutist. We know the flutist is a man   
            because in line 7 of the first stanza the woman refers to his fingers. Answer is B.                          

           3. What is the atmosphere in the village as described in the second stanza?

 

A.           A. peaceful

B.            B.     joyful

C.           C. gloomy 

      If you choose A, you are partly right. A more accurate answer is C. In the second stanza, the female persona tells her lover, the flutist, the village is quiet and deserted and the rice fields are sick. It may be quiet, but the place is deserted. So, C is the better answer.


4. Describe in your own words what the poet means by sick rice fields.

      We can only guess from the context of the poem that the place is deserted and there is the likelihood that young people have abandoned the village, and there aren't enough people to work the rice fields. mention is also made in the last stanza about my younger brothers unemployed and desperate. Are these the same young people who deserted the village? You could write your answer:


      The sick rice fields probably refers to abandoned rice fields because the young have left the village to go to the city.

5. What is the luxury mentioned in line 4 of the second stanza?

In the Midst of Hardship -by Latiff Mohidin

At dawn they returned home

their soaky clothes torn

and approached the stove

their limbs marked by scratches

their legs full of wounds

but on their brows

there was not a sign of despair

The whole day and night just passed

they had to brave the horrendous flood

in the water all the time

between bloated carcasses

and tiny chips of tree barks

desperately looking for their son’s

albino buffalo that was never found

They were born amidst hardship

and grew up without a sigh or a complaint

now they are in the kitchen, making

jokes while rolling their cigarette leaves

Do you like this poem by Malaysian poet and artist, Latiff Mohidin? What do you think he is trying to convey through this poem, In the Midst of Hardship. What is the theme? What are the literary devices he uses to convey his meaning? In reading a poem, the first impression is the literal (surface) meaning. However, the surface meaning is often not the real meaning or theme. You will have to infer from the poet's use of literary devices to convey his meaning. For example, what does bloated carcasses tell you? Its literal meaning refers to dead bodies, but is that what Latiff Mohidin mean? What does he mean when he says, they had to brave the horrendous flood? For this, you must read to understand the poem's theme and explain the the use of images or symbols in relation to the theme. More about this in my next post...