Keindahan Rima dalam Puisi Berbahasa Inggris

Sebagai seorang guru Bahasa Inggris, saya merasa perlu terus mengasah kemampuan saya, terutama dalam hal menulis. Selama ini, kesempatan menuangkan keterampilan menulis masih terbatas dalam penulisan soal. Itu pun sebagian besar teks yang dipakai dalam soal-soal bukan buatan sendiri, melainkan mengambil sumber baik dari internet maupun buku.

Mengatasi masalah ini, saya memanfaatkan sebagian waktu luang untuk menulis. Puisi menjadi pilihan saya. Alasannya jelas, saya suka menulis puisi. Suatu ketika saya berfikir, mengapa tidak mencoba menulis puisi dalam Bahasa Inggris? Maka mulailah saya menulis puisi berbahasa Inggris. Dengan puisi, saya tertantang untuk membuat kalimat yang benar secara tata bahasa sekaligus memiliki keindahan rima. Demi mendapat rima yang indah, saya kadang bolak-balik mengecek kamus, memastikan kata tertentu memiliki makna yang saya inginkan sekaligus memiliki bunyi (pronunciation) yang sama dengan kata sebelumnya.

Aktivitas semacam ini saya rasakan sangat bermanfaat. Kosa kata saya berkembang karena saya harus mencari kata-kata yang baru dan intuisi menulis saya pun makin terasah. Jika dibandingkan dengan penyair lainnya, puisi saya ini tentu belum ada apa-apanya. Puisi-puisi saya masih sederhana, maknanya mudah dipahami. Saya lebih suka bermain di rima yang dengan membacanya saya merasakan keindahan berbahasa.

Nah, bagaimana pendapat pembaca? Apakah bisa menangkap keindahan rima pada puisi-puisi saya ini?

November Rain

As I hear the sound of the rain

I hope it will heal my pain

Though I don’t know why

My tears still go by

The wind dances gloomily

It feels my sorrow surely

I wish I could fly high

To take my deep sigh

Night comes and darkness embraces me

Only hard falling water I can see

But I’m certain the sun will shine next morning

And groups of birds will enchantingly sing

I smile, now and later

Here and there, forever

No more cry, no more grief

Coz I will enhance my belief

(Iis Nuryati, Nov 2019)

November is Coming

to: the owner of Nov 18 n 19

Everything seems dazzling

Buds are sprouting

Flowers are blooming

Just the same as my feeling

November is here

Oh, how I still remember

The first time I sat close to you, dear

My heart throbbed fast, if you could hear

November is at my side

The story began, nothing to hide

Love grew between me and you

As morning dew, I wasn’t that blue

November is in my heart, baby

When you held my hand gently

I knew you would never release it anyhow

Together we are, today and tomorrow

November is coming

Though rain starts falling

It’s indeed our day, darling

To celebrate the blessed wedding

November will be leaving someday

But our love will always stay

Let thunder and storm go away

They are nothing, if we pray

(Iis Nuryati, 18 Nov 2019)

If Only

Time goes by so fast

I left nothing but trash

At dawn I yawn

In the morning I start complaining

In the afternoon I focus on plate and spoon

In the evening I am busy chatting

At night I sleep tight

Time flies so quickly

I find myself guilty

If only I could turn back time

I would make my days shine

(Iis Nuryati, Nov 20, 2019)

It is December

When I look at the calendar

I notice something clear

Another year is almost over

I see my foot print left behind

When sitting alone to rewind

What I have done in the past time

Oh no

It’s disgusting

I smell something rotten

Coming out of my body, hidden

Yet I can feel it

As I take a sight

My sins are there

Crowd around, with no sound

Sink me into the lowest ocean

The ocean of depravation

It is December

I set out to live better

And hope to see the next year

(Iis Nuryati, Dec 2019)

New Year

The thirty-first dusk of December

I see the sun sets slowly

Leaving millions of memories

Be sad not my friends

Many things end

Yet a lot of starts will be coming

Ups and downs may approach

They color your days

Laughter and tears may alternate

They enlighten your nights

Keep your dreams tight

Time for you to fight

Your success is somewhere awaiting

You just need to keep moving

Welcome 2020

(Iis Nuryati, Dec 2019)

Father

Every time I left you

I know something for sure

How I always want to see you

As you get older and older

I think hard very often

How I pay for what you’ve given

So far in my life

Never did I hear you saying

“I love you, kid”

But all around my life

Your love fulfills my everything

(Iis Nuryati, Januari 2020)

Gratitude

Looking at myself

I find there are a lot of things I have

No pay, no debt

Looking at my past

There have been moments passed

Blessed, they splashed

Looking at the sky

I see the blue cloud high

Birds are there to fly

Looking at the ground

The greatness of earth is shown

I know to whom it belongs

You, The Almighty

The owner of the owner

Indeed

For all of those gifts

There really are no words

To show my gratitude

(Iis Nuryati, 1 Feb 2020)

Oleh : Iis Nuryati, S.Pd. – Guru SMPIT Insan Kamil, Kab. Karanganyar