“We are too often influenced by other people's opinions. We worry too much about what others think of us. We feel called to satisfy other people's expectations, when we know that's definitely not the kind of life we want to live.”Titon Rahmawan
“Believe me, no one is completely good. Similarly, no one is completely evil. It depends on where you stand, and how you look at it. Protagonists and antagonists only exist in fiction.”Titon Rahmawan
“How can we value love? Everyone knows and realizes that love is vulnerable and easily hurt.”Titon Rahmawan
“Love should grow for its own happiness. But in reality, it is very difficult for love to grow alone. Love always needs someone else.”Titon Rahmawan
“What we keep can be a burden to ourselves, while what we discard can be a blessing to others. Do you think that's a contradiction?”Titon Rahmawan
“Not a single sentence could move her heart. Not a story, a novel or even a poem. Even if she really had a heart, she could not love.”Titon Rahmawan
“I've told her a fairy tale that she doesn't remember. I have written hundreds of poems that could not touch her feelings. To her I was not a poet. To her I was not a good writer. I was not the right person for her to love.”Titon Rahmawan
“More than all the thoughts and feelings I have written down. I don't pretend to be a poet. I feel happy enough when someone is willing to read what I have written.”Titon Rahmawan
“Is it foolishness for someone to make himself a light when he is surrounded by darkness and misguidance?”Titon Rahmawan
“How naive man is when he thinks he can measure the depth of the sea, the flow of a river, the speed of the wind, the distance between stars and galaxies. Is he still able to weigh his own foolishness and arrogance? That he can uncover the secrets behind all truths?”Titon Rahmawan
“What weighs on the soul is ignorance of one's own will and worry over the absence of a future.”Titon Rahmawan
“Love needs no explanation, of course. There's nothing to explain. About love or longing. The thoughts that accompany our feelings. It's been there for a long time. Ever since it first came to say hello and then declared itself. It's not something strange, not easily understood. It's like the togetherness we share today. Sit and chat with friends. Enjoying time and joking. Playing old songs, from The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Matt Monro and Elvis Presley.We're not too old to go back to those days. Revisiting the stories of the past. Talking about paintings from Sudjojono or Affandi to Dede Eri Supria and Lucia Hartini. Arguing who is greater; Chairil, Sapardi or Sutardji?We put aside the issues of political depravity and the news of leadership succession that is not what the public expects. Let time resolve everything. Better to talk about climate change, which is sometimes cloudy and sometimes sunny. Or the heat that does not hesitate to burn your head until it reaches 37° while in other places heavy rains cause floods everywhere. We will never know, until the wind takes us back from the past.”Titon Rahmawan
“After time betrays history. We forget the words of the heroes. What did they shout when a bayonet pierced their chest or a bullet lodged in their head? There was blood that flowed soaking the earth. Not only fostering anger or revenge, but also love for the motherland. It was the overflow of a soul that wanted to fly to freedom. Still wanting to fight against death. For hopes, dreams, justice and truth. No longer shouting the word: "Merdeka!" but to uphold the dignity of our beloved country as high as possible.”Titon Rahmawan
“History and the past should be a mirror for us to reflect on our own ugliness, shortcomings and depravity. Not just to preen and beautify ourselves.”Titon Rahmawan