Borneo Sky

A thousand rivers in your arms,

winding through forests

that have declined for ages,

gurgling along the edges of small lands,

guardians of the rivers

before they unite with the open sea

Eagle eyes catch the wind

that blows the clouds,

reflected in the waters of rice fields

like a prism of mirrors

Blue canvas of sky

above the grief of the land,

below the magnetic equator

Once, a dense rainforest

between the crying flows of rivers

Giant snappers and groupers grew wild

from headwaters to creeks

papuyu, lais, jelawat, seluang,

and all the other local fish

splashing through the air,

a perfect dish at night

Now,

the sky covers a thousand miles of swamps,

greener plantations,

deeper quarries,

bolder heavy trucks,

cold-bladed steel

digging greedier,

indiscriminate deforestation

A shade of grey in the sky

Maybe we’ll meet again someday,

when the sky is even more colourless

Novia,
Banjarmasin – May 8th, 2014

Note:
Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest island of Asia. The island is divided among three countries: Brunei and Malaysia on the north, and Indonesia to the south. Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory. Borneo is home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world.