President Joko Widodo, clemency is a gift of the spirit. To kill the Bali Nine members shows only that death dictates life
Dear President Joko Widodo,
I am the Australian poet, writer and academic, John Kinsella. I spent a couple of months travelling through Indonesia when I was young, my mother speaks Indonesian, and I have long been interested in Indonesian poetry, theatre, music and fiction. I write this letter out of respect for the cultures of Indonesia, and for your role as president of the Indonesian people.
for those killed by “firing squad” in the name of justice in Indonesia and a plea for clemency for those awaiting this fate
Heavy weather over the rainforest
heavy weather over plantations and prisons;
when I think of Nusakambangan
I think of the black egret and mouse deer.