A Special Tribute.

"A good bye is never painful unless you're never going to say hello again." -Anonymous.

It was an ordinary song, in a day.
It is becoming a special song ever since.
A special tribute actually.
For a friendship that will never die.


It was a song in a rough time.
It is now becoming a memorial song.
To remind everything that had been through in 8 years.
To remember that there were days when we were together.


It was composed by words.
It is now becoming such a harmony.
Just like when a story of each days came in a sequence.
Eventually, it becomes a recollections of every tiny pieces of the happening.




It was a song for a friend.
It still a song to remember a friend
It will be a song that I never too old to listen to, for a friend.


For B.

Homophobia

"Homophobia is just that: a phobia." -George Weinberg

I AM THE BOY WHO NEVER FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL, BECAUSE I GOT CALLED A FAG EVERYDAY.

I AM THE GIRL KICKED OUT OF HER HOME BECAUSE I CONFIDED IN MY MOTHER THAT I AM A LESBIAN.

I AM THE PROSTITUTE WORKING THE STREETS BECAUSE NOBODY WILL HIRE A TRANSSEXUAL WOMAN.

I AM THE SISTER WHO HOLDS HER GAY BROTHER TIGHT THROUGH THE PAINFUL, TEAR-FILLED NIGHTS.

WE ARE THE PARENTS WHO BURIED OUR DAUGHTER LONG BEFORE HER TIME.

I AM THE MAN WHO DIED ALONE IN THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE THEY WOULD NOT LET MY PARTNER OF TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS INTO THE ROOM.

I AM THE FOSTER CHILD WHO WAKES UP WITH NIGHTMARES OF BEING TAKEN AWAY FROM THE TWO FATHERS WHO ARE THE ONLY LOVING FAMILY I HAVE EVER HAD. I WISH THEY COULD ADOPT ME.

I AM NOT ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES. I KILLED MYSELF JUST WEEKS BEFORE GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL. IT WAS SIMPLY TOO MUCH TO BEAR.

WE ARE THE COUPLE WHO HAD THE REALTOR HANG UP ON US WHEN SHE FOUND OUT WE WANTED TO RENT A ONE-BEDROOM FOR TWO MEN.

I AM THE PERSON WHO NEVER KNOWS WHICH BATHROOM I SHOULD USE IF I WANT TO AVOID GETTING THE MANAGEMENT CALLED ON ME.

I AM THE MOTHER WHO IS NOT ALLOWED TO EVEN VISIT THE CHILDREN I BORE, NURSED, AND RAISED. THE COURT SAYS I AM AN UNFIT MOTHER BECAUSE I NOW LIVE WITH ANOTHER WOMAN.

I AM THE DOMESTIC-VIOLENCE SURVIVOR WHO FOUND THE SUPPORT SYSTEM GROW SUDDENLY COLD AND DISTANT WHEN THEY FOUND OUT MY ABUSIVE PARTNER IS ALSO A WOMAN.

I AM THE DOMESTIC-VIOLENCE SURVIVOR WHO HAS NO SUPPORT SYSTEM TO TURN TO BECAUSE I AM MALE.

I AM THE FATHER WHO HAS NEVER HUGGED HIS SON BECAUSE I GREW UP AFRAID TO SHOW AFFECTION TO OTHER MEN.

I AM THE HOME-ECONOMICS TEACHER WHO ALWAYS WANTED TO TEACH GYM UNTIL SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT ONLY LESBIANS DO THAT.

I AM THE WOMAN WHO DIED WHEN THE EMTS STOPPED TREATING ME AS SOON AS THEY REALIZED I WAS TRANSSEXUAL.

I AM THE PERSON WHO FEELS GUILTY BECAUSE I THINK I COULD BE A MUCH BETTER PERSON IF I DIDN’T HAVE TO ALWAYS DEAL WITH SOCIETY HATING ME.

I AM THE MAN WHO STOPPED ATTENDING CHURCH, NOT BECAUSE I DON’T BELIEVE, BUT BECAUSE THEY CLOSED THEIR DOORS TO MY KIND.

I AM THE PERSON WHO HAS TO HIDE WHAT THIS WORLD NEEDS MOST, LOVE.

I AM THE PERSON ASHAMED TO TELL MY OWN FRIENDS I’M A LESBIAN, BECAUSE THEY CONSTANTLY MAKE FUN OF THEM.

I AM THE BOY TIED TO A FENCE, BEATEN TO A BLOODY PULP AND LEFT TO DIE BECAUSE TWO STRAIGHT MEN WANTED TO “TEACH ME A LESSON.”

"Love has no limits, only people do."

Tersesat itu...

"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. 

Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost." - Jackson Brown, Jr.

Tersesat itu melelahkan.

Ada kalanya ingin segera menyerah dan berharap pasrah pada bantuan yang bisa datang kapan saja.

Tersesat itu membingungkan.

Berusaha membaca peta dan tidak mengerti sedikitpun arah mana yang dimaksud.

Tersesat itu menjengkelkan.

Berjalan memutar arah dan berakhir berdiri di tempat yang sama seperti di awal.

Tersesat itu menyedihkan.

Membayangkan jalan pulang namun tidak sanggup menemukannya.

Tersesat itu menakutkan.

Terjaga tiap malam, berharap tidak ada yang mengganggu.

Namun kadang,

Tersesat itu menyenangkan.

Mengetahui sesuatu yang tidak diketahui orang banyak.

Tersesat itu mengasyikkan.

Mengeksplorasi tempat-tempat yang orang banyak tidak tahu tempat itu ada.

Tersesat itu menghibur.

Menemukan kuncup-kuncup kecil bunga yang mampu berpendar dalam gelap.

Tersesat itu memabukkan.

Sekali kaki kiri melangkah keluar jalur, membuat kaki kanan mengikut arah ke negeri antah berantah.

Tersesat itu mencandukan.

Keasyikan menikmati segalanya yang baru dan melupakan tujuan awal untuk tiba di rumah.

Karena,

Tersesat itu (sebuah) perjalanan.

It's all about FAITH

"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. 

For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." -Stuart Chase

• Professor : You are a Christian, aren't you, son ?
• Student : Yes, sir.
• Professor : So you Believe in GOD ?
• Student : Absolutely, sir.
• Professor : Is GOD Good ?
• Student : Sure.
• Professor : Is GOD ALL - POWERFUL ?
• Student : Yes.
• Professor : My Brother died of Cancer even though he Prayed to GOD to Heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn't. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?
• ( Student is silent )
• Professor : You can't answer, can you ? Let's start again, Young Fella. Is GOD Good?
• Student : Yes.
• Professor : Is Satan good ?
• Student : No.
• Professor : Where does Satan come from ?
• Student : From . . . GOD . . .
• Professor : That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this World?
• Student : Yes.
• Professor : Evil is everywhere, isn't it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?
• Student : Yes.
• Professor : So who created evil ?
• (Student does not answer)
• Professor : Is there Sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the World, don't they?
• Student : Yes, sir.
• Professor : So, who Created them ?
• ( Student has no answer )
• Professor : Science says you have 5 Senses you use to Identify and Observe the World around you. Tell me, son . . . Have you ever Seen GOD?
• Student : No, sir.
• Professor : Tell us if you have ever Heard your GOD?
• Student : No , sir.
• Professor : Have you ever Felt your GOD, Tasted your GOD, Smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any Sensory Perception of GOD for that matter?
• Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
• Professor : Yet you still Believe in HIM?
• Student : Yes.
• Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
• Student : Nothing. I only have my Faith.
• Professor : Yes, Faith. And that is the Problem Science has.
• Student : Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?
• Professor : Yes.
• Student : And is there such a thing as Cold?
• Professor : Yes.
• Student : No sir. There isn't.
• ( The Lecture Theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events )
• Student : Sir, you can have Lots of Heat, even More Heat, Superheat, Mega Heat, White Heat, a Little Heat or No Heat... But we don't have anything called Cold. We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is No Heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as Cold. Cold is only a Word we use to describe the Absence of Heat. We cannot Measure Cold. Heat is Energy. Cold is Not the Opposite of Heat, sir, just the Absence of it.
• ( There is Pin - Drop Silence in the Lecture Theatre )
• Student : What about Darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as Darkness?
• Professor : Yes. What is Night if there isn't Darkness?
• Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the Absence of Something¡ You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light . . . But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and its called Darkness, isn't it? In reality, Darkness isn't. If it is, were you would be able to make Darkness Darker, wouldn't you?
• Professor : So what is the point you are making, Young Man ?
• Student : Sir, my point is your Philosophical Premise is flawed.
• Professor : Flawed ? Can you explain how?
• Student : Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality. You argue there is Life and then there is Death, a Good GOD and a Bad GOD. You are viewing the Concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can't even explain a Thought. It uses Electricity and Magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view Death as the Opposite of Life is to be ignorant of the fact that Death cannot exist as a Substantive Thing. Death is Not the Opposite of Life: just the Absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your Students that they evolved from a Monkey?
• Professor : If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes, of course, I do.
• Student : Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir?
• ( The Professor shakes his head with a Smile, beginning to realize where the Argument is going )
• Student : Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at work and Cannot even prove that this Process is an On - Going Endeavor, Are you not teaching your Opinion, sir? Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?
• ( The Class is in Uproar )
• Student : Is there anyone in the Class who has ever seen the Professor's Brain?
• ( The Class breaks out into Laughter )
• Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's Brain, Felt it, touched or Smelt it? . . . No one appears to have done so. So, according to the Established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have No Brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then Trust your Lectures, sir?
• (The Room is Silent. The Professor stares at the Student, his face unfathomable.)
• Professor : I guess you'll have to take them on Faith, son.
• Student : That is it sir . . . The Link between Man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that Keeps Things Moving & Alive.

NB:
It turned out later that the student is Albert Einstein

P.S: Do you have enough faith?

Well, it's on your own.