Apresiasi REAKSI: There Are Things I Should Have Told You

There Are Things I Should Have Told You

Oleh : N. Gie

To a name far away, missed by many, 
Etched on the pillars of mind turned philosophy— 
a glimmer flickers behind those red-tired eyes, 
Tangled thoughts beneath the dim moonlight.

 
Very close to where we kept what was broken, 
Old promises gather dust in the corners, 
Midnight conversations still hang at the ceiling, 
This dawn haunted by unsent words, heavy with longing. 

But the will is knotted, tight around our necks, 
While empty speeches echo through locked rooms, 
And hope walks beside us, 
Trying to stir the stone of contradictions that no longer listens. 

And yet, 
I am waiting for the day 
we can meet again— 
with love. 

"There Are Things I Should Have Told You" is a delicate and layered poem that quietly haunts the reader with its depiction of the political situation in this country. It is written in a bold style, using romantic, intimate imagery to hint at a much larger theme, such as democracy in crisis. The diction leans into romantic poetic language to evoke deep personal emotion. It is a metaphor for the suppression of freedom of speech, the unfulfilled promises of democracy and ideals that have become distant memories.

The subtlety of the romantic language makes the poem open to interpretation: "Is it about a lost lover, a lost ideal, a silenced voice, or a nation’s fading spirit?". The final stanza ends with the soft yet powerful line, “I am waiting for the day we can meet again with love”, suggesting healing, restoration, and perhaps reconciliation.