salam pemergian, kepada saudara

i know i said i wouldn't blog 'til after exams, but a good friend of mine is finishing our course, and i would like to pay a small tribute of respect to him. as you might notice, the title of this entry is in malay, and writing in malay is something i haven't done in... ages. so, forgive the bad vocabulary, and worse grammar. i wasn't planning on posting this, but since jack was pretty appreciative of it, i guess it's a well setup as a tribute. and if you don't like it, then, tough - jack did.

in the common room where i recently frequent, in feeble attempts to 'study', we have a small ongoing competition to gain the temporary title of 'common room chess champion'. the rules are simple: if you can defeat the current champion twice in a row on the same day, you become the new champion. (i guess i'd rephrase to 'the rule is simple').

anyway, my friend, jack (sparrow) is an ardent player, and he and two others are the regular contenders for said title. recently he had been pushing to defeat the then-current champion, leng lui (which means pretty lady in mandarin, i think. the story behind this pseudonym becomes apparent, once you read to the end of this entry). the following tribute stems from jack's success in claiming the championship, just about a week before his departure back to malaysia. again, apologies for the lacklustre malay:

jejaka gasah melangkah samudera,
mencari dewasa, merentas marcapada;
sebelum pulangkan ke bumi pertiwi,
sempat sejenak tarungan dilewati.

si gadis ayu lagikan bertakhta,
sudah terkalahkan seribu binasa,
dengan menangnya, jejaka raungkan:
'sekali lagi, demi perjalanan!'

- for jack; one more for the road -

a few things to put the poem in context: jack's catchphrase is 'one for the road'. again, there's some non-sensical and slang words in the poem, so don't hate on that. here's a feeble attempt to transcribe the poem in english, if you prefer. crossing the language barrier while trying to preserve the rhyme scheme is really hard ><:

a rugged man travels an ocean, briny,
seeking adulthood, transversing the contemporary;
a moment's breath before the homecoming life
warrants opportune for a blitzkrieg strife.

resplendent, a beauty sits atop her throne,
defeat, a thousand destructions are driven home;
and come victory, the man explodes:
'one more for the road!'

- for jack -

may your return home be smooth, and may your future be bright.