Bersenang Kemudian

berakit rakit ke hulu
berenang-renang ketepian
bersakit-sakit dahulu
bersenang-senang kemudian

literal translation

rafting along to the river ends
swimming along to the side
take the pain first
having it easy afterwards

Inferential Analysis

In this pantun, we could see the theme of delaying gratification. The Malays have this concept years before we even read any motivation books that discusses about delaying gratification. The message here is that it is okay to have it hard at first, as long as in the long run, it will be easier.

the first two lines which is the pembayang foreshadows the message that it will bring in the third and fourth line. Rafting along the river and swimming to the side shows the hardship of a journey. Instead of showing the easy way to travel- which is on a sampan, this pantun shows the harder way to travel-which is by rafting and swimming. So here we could see that not all pembayang are useless. The creater of this pantun must be really good in his language as he could use meaningful words to create such a genius rhyme.