In The Midst Of Hardship-Synopsis

This poem tells of the hardship that a family in a village faces after a big flood. The elders return at dawn in soaking-wet clothes. They go straight to the kitchen. They are probably hungry. Their hands and legs are bruised but they do not show any sign of despair or of losing hope.
After braving the dreadful flood for the last 24 hours, they still can not find their son’s albino buffalo. Despite all the adversities and suffering, the people in the poem do not complain or lament on their misfortunes. They spend time together, enjoying each other’s company. They are grateful for the fact what they still have instead of what is lost. Life goes on with their daily chores of preparing food and habit of rolling their cigarette leaves. They are still able to joke with one another.

In The Midst Of Hardship;-Background of the Poet

Latiff Mohidin
Born on 25 August 1941 in Negeri Sembilan, Latiff Mohidin was educated at Lenggeng, Seremban, Singapore, and the University of Fine Arts in Berlin. This poet and artist has held exhibitions of his works and travelled abroad extensively in the 1960s and 1970s. He has served as Writer in Residence at the Science University of Malaysia, Penang, the National University of Malaysia and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. At present, Latiff is a freelance poet and artist. His poems have won the Putra I poetry Award. Among his books are: Sungai Mekong (1972), Kembara Malam (1974), and Wayang Pak Dalang (1977). Garis: Dari Titik ke Titik (1988), a book on the creative process (art and poetry), won the Honourable Diploma Prize at the Festival of International Books at Leipzig, Germany in 1989.
Latiff Mohidin is usually known for his graphic and imagistic experiment. He addresses social themes in his poems, illustrating the all-important concept that poetry serves society. Among the poems he has written are Dream 1, Mirror, The Puppeteer’s Wayang, Words Adrift on Air, The Legend of the Dawn, His Thick Shroud, The Shore of Time, Mask of My Name is Rawana and ‘A City, A Grandmother and Death’.

Welcome 2010

Wow! I haven't been blogging for quite some time, it seems. Well, having a long year-end break was so satisfying that I managed to adapt to the changes in the first month of 2010. It is pretty tough to juggle both career and family world, but keeping this statement in my head seems to be the driving factor so far="If you don't have time, MAKE time." It is true, somehow because the crucial part in managing the routines is to manage time. Trying to quit my position as the Queen of Procrastination is not an easy task. Well, perhaps by reminding my students everyday will help me to remind myself most of the times that Procrastination is the thief of time.