AKU

Kalau sampai waktuku
'Ku mau tak seorang kan merayu
Tidak juga kau

Tak perlu sedu sedan itu

Aku ini binatang jalang
Dari kumpulannya terbuang

Biar peluru menembus kulitku
Aku tetap meradang menerjang

Luka dan bisa kubawa berlari
Berlari
Hingga hilang pedih peri

Dan aku akan lebih tidak perduli

Aku mau hidup seribu tahun lagi



Chairil Anwar (July 22, 1922 - April 28, 1949) was probably one of the most famous Indonesian poets. Chairil died at the relatively young age of 27 of syphilis.

Notably, one of his most famous poems was "Aku". It is a poem that comes from the wound of having to leave his father who cheated on his mother. But Chairil's expression of personal pain and rebellion was interpreted by many Indonesians as a call to arms. His poem "Aku" is mostly used in rally and protest as a declaration of rebellion.

Chairil was indeed a rebellious person. He lived in the streets of Jakarta and befriended many of the upper class and also many prostitutes. That is how he contracted the syphilis that eventually claimed his life. His uncle was Indonesia's Prime Minister, but he never took advantage of that position. Instead, Chairil stayed in the streets or at the hut his mother built.

Chairil, together with Asrul Sani and Rivai Apin, were the poets behind Generation 45 ("Angkatan '45"). That movement signified a change in Indonesian literature. Smart, short and "unflowerful" words were to be the height of "Angkatan '45". This defied the previous generation of poets such as Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, whose poems still mostly used "traditional" lyrics, rhyme and structured form (derived from the Pantun).