Dear Ibuku,

 

How thankful I am for you.

You gave me love and you gave me care,

Gave me the Word of God and love for prayer.

You taught me how to be kind,

Taught me morals and how to speak my mind.

You encouraged me to see the beauty in our world,

And clapped whenever I spun, whirled, and twirled.

On the makeshift stage grandfather made,

Above our koi pond, before he got hit with retrograde.

 

But my dear Ibuku,

How unfair I  find it,

That I get to experience the world while you stay on that island.

While I witness America and all of its glories

You wait for me, 4 years at a time, to tell of its stories.

Your whole life you’ve been surrounded by the mountains of Merapi,

And your whole life, you’ve stood and yearned looking across to the seas of Indrayanti,

To finally be able to satiate your heart of exploration that you’ve passed down,

To your grateful granddaughter, who has never seen you frown.

It baffles me Ibuku, that never once have I seen you complain or whine,

About the hardships that had been painfully entwined,

Into your long life of waking up at 4 AM,

Sowing the fields, beating the rice, just to feed your 4 children.

 

One day Ibuku, I do promise,

That I’ll take you off that island and finally pay homage,

For everything that you have done for my mother and for me,

And so that you may finally see.

An easier, far from Indonesia type of life,

One more suitable for your radiant heart, unscathed by the strife.

 

Hopefully Ibuku, I can do keep my word before you leave this unfair place,

But if I can’t, please forgive me, and shine down on me still with your saving grace.

I will be mad, mad at myself,

But I’ll  know that heaven is a good place, and that God called for you Himself.

 

I love you Ibuku, and I just wanted to say thank you.

As I am going on with my life, your lessons and that promise I will forever hold onto.

 

Your granddaughter,

Delphi Pradiana