International Journal of Indonesian Studies Volume 1, Issue 3 | Page 135

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN STUDIES
SPRING 2016
The repetition of words is evident in this poem to accentuate the shameful reprisals upon
the weak. He paints a dastardly scene of the devastation which is being wrought against the
people.
‘A pack of wild dogs
eat hundreds and hundreds of human bodies
the dead and the half dead.
And among the scorched trees of the forest
puddles of blood form into a pool.’ (Ibid.)
The forces of evil are ‘Kelelawar-lelelawarraksasa,’ vampire bats, that rape and kill, wild
dogs are eating corpses and the evidence is the stark red of blood.
The dead are viewed as if they are martyrs who are cleansed,
‘Twenty angels come down from heaven
to purify those in their death throes’

(Ibid.)

Nevertheless, the horror persists against the innocent,
‘ambushed by the giant vampires and raped’ (Ibid.)
Even when there is a ‘vital breeze which travels gently on’ (Ibid.), it is just a lull in the
devastation. Such a bloody breeze will only serve to inflame the passion of the opposing
forces, the ‘angels and bats.’ In the last two lines of this poem, Rendra seemingly turns to
speak directly to the two sides of the Indonesian political discontent and charges them both
with these crimes and the inherent havoc,
‘for you have worked so intently to create it.’ (Ibid.)
After writing in a ballad-like form in his early years, Rendra's poetry developed into a
predominantly narrative style. He frequently adopts the colloquial to describe and condense
the people to their exact lives and lifestyles. The poem, Nyanyian Angsa(Swan Song) is an
example of his use of the retelling of a story intermingled with symbolism. This long poem,
on one level, tells the story of an aging and no longer so pretty whore who is thrown out of
a brothel. She is seriously ill; she has no money and owes money to many, including her
doctor. He is no longer prepared to give her any more than token medication, a vitamin C
injection, because she cannot pay.
Within this narrative, the subject of the poem speaks in the first person,
‘I tremble with fear’ (Aveling, p.48)
The whore calls herself by name, ‘Maria Zaitun is my name’ (Ibid. p.47) and this is repeated
at pertinent points through the poem. Her name sounds distinctly Christian and appears to

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