“Welcoming a Basket of Sunshine”: Poetry Collection (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA)
Illustration of "Welcoming a Basket of Sunshine": Poetry Collection (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA). Image Source: Starcom Indonesia's Artsworks No. 925-96 (Assisted by AI).
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Welcoming a Basket of Sunshine
Poetry by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
Once, the garden sang,
but now its voice dissolves into the wind,
like leaves falling
before spring could carve their names into time.
We clutch tightly, yet our palms burn—
grains of time slip through our grasp,
a river devouring itself,
while hunger burrows through our fingers,
like roots drilling into stone,
yearning for promises the earth never made.
The sky has written us in strokes of light,
yet we sift through shadows on damp ground,
fearing that tomorrow will swallow us whole,
though today still has stories left to tell.
Look—
anxiety becomes a storm,
ripping the roots of hope,
shredding the soft breath of morning,
snatching leaves before they ever turn green.
It chews at silence with iron teeth,
licks the bones of dreams clean,
and turns our souls into a hunting ground for starving ghosts.
Today stands at the threshold,
knocking with hands full of sunlight,
yet we are too busy mending tomorrow
to open the window.
Do not let fear nest
where a garden should bloom.
Do not let tired voices,
like stray dogs in narrow alleys,
gnaw at the marrow of your will.
They laugh at your steps,
but have never walked the abyss you climb.
They count the scars on your back,
but have never smelled the stench of pain.
Rise—
the rain has come, washing the dust from your skin.
The sky is no longer a cage
but a window waiting for you to shatter it.
Today is a current pulling you into the unknown,
but at least let yourself float with your head held high,
not drown in the tide of fear.
And when death finally knocks—
because it will—
let it find you living,
not hiding from life.
Melbourne, Australia, 2012
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I Am Not a Fallen Leaf
Poetry by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
I am not a fallen leaf,
left for the wind to decide my fate.
I am a root piercing stone,
refusing to bow before an earth
that longs to swallow me whole.
I grip the soil—
not to survive,
but to birth forests where no green has ever grown.
I am not dust blown by time,
not a shadow bending to the light.
I am the flame
that will not be doused by rain.
I am the dew
that will still descend,
even when the night closes every window.
Speak not to me of defeat,
for I have seen the night collapse into dawn.
I have watched buried seeds,
crushed beneath the weight of silence,
rise into trees that dare to challenge the sky.
And I know—
even the fragile can become unbreakable,
even the small can topple a mountain
that has stood for a thousand years.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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Will You Be That Flame?
Poetry by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
Night sharpens its fangs,
chewing light into splinters.
The moon groans,
its body shattered by the wind,
and the stars are tossed like embers
into the furnace of a hungry sky.
But look—
in a quiet corner,
a flame refuses to kneel.
It laughs in the face of darkness,
lifts its face against the creeping shadows.
“Not all light belongs to the sky.
Not all flames fear death.”
It kindles itself,
burns through the frozen air,
until morning is forced to kneel before it.
Will you be that flame?
Or just a shadow, devoured by fire?
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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When the Sky Gets Stuck in the Crown of Humanity
Poetry by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
They say the sky is above,
but don’t you feel
it tangled in the crown of humanity?
This sky is no roof of the world,
but a rusted disc
spinning in the minds
of those who never lift their gaze.
Some try to erase the horizon
with their fingertips,
but the wind devours it like stale bread.
Some attempt to rewrite the dusk,
but the sun only laughs,
standing at the edge of its own fire.
The sky is not a boundary—
it is a mirror
that whispers:
“Are you tall enough to touch me?”
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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A Wound Fighting Pain and Fairies
Poetry by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
The earth rolls on, indifferent.
The sea swallows ships like an afternoon meal.
Mountains exhale their last breath
without bidding farewell to the forests.
What are you waiting for?
The world has long forgotten mercy.
So I choose to challenge the waves
rather than be sand that stays still.
I choose to break the rocks
rather than rust upon their edges.
Fate is no hammer
destined to crush me to dust.
I am not the earth that kneels—
I am a wound fighting pain and fairies,
even if the sky slaps me once more.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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Why Does That Bird Still Fly?
Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
The last bird rises,
wings slashed against a sky
fractured like shattered glass.
Its feathers scatter—
a requiem of autumn petals,
yet still, it soars
through the wreckage of clouds.
The sky thunders, raging:
“Why won’t you surrender?”
The bird laughs, defiant.
“Surrender is the burden of clouds,
not birds.”
The sky grips, wrenches,
dragging it down—
but still, it beats,
it beats,
until even the night cannot fathom
why it refuses to fall.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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The Building That Refused to Fall
Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
This city devours its own,
chewing through souls like smoke
swallowing glass.
Old buildings cough,
windows rattle like chattering teeth
bracing against the cold.
But I am not one of them.
I am the building that refuses to fall.
Cracks mar my walls, yet they do not break.
The sky lashes me with storms,
but I glare back and whisper:
“Try harder.”
I will remain standing,
even if the city drowns,
even if this night turns into its grave.
I will remain standing,
unyielding,
for I bow only to the will of God.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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I Am a Trace in Your Chest
Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
I am not water that dies at the river’s end,
not a song silenced before its final note.
I am the river—
crushed by stone, yet still carving
a path toward the sea.
I am not the night
that yields to darkness.
I am the star
that carves through the void with light.
Do not tell me it is over.
I am the pulse that refuses to fade,
the breath that defies oblivion.
Look—
even ash
can become the soil that births a tree.
And I will remain,
if only as a trace
pressed into your chest.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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The Measure of a Life
Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
I
Night unravels day, peeling light
until only shadows remain.
Between dust and unanswered prayers,
humanity stands—asking: Who am I?
The sky frowns, mourning names
dissolved like mist over open wounds.
The earth stirs, hungry,
swallowing bodies without tasting
the weight of their memories.
History moves like a river without end,
devouring all that drifts upon its surface.
Are you the wave that stirs the current,
or merely a drop
that vanishes before the ripple takes form?
What will you choose, my friend?
II
Some choose to be the wind—
slipping unnoticed through hollow chests,
without question,
without seeking remembrance.
Some choose to be the rain—
falling, breaking, sinking into the earth,
never whispering,
“I was here.”
Some choose to be stone—
silent, still, waiting for time
to erase them.
But some choose to be fire—
burning even as the night drowns them in rain,
consuming themselves
to keep the world alight.
What will you choose, my friend?
III
A life is not measured
by how many breaths one takes,
but by how much air
they give to the breathless.
A life is not counted
by how far one walks,
but by how often they become a bridge
for those who cannot stand.
What will you choose, my friend?
IV
The sky does not carve names into clouds.
The earth does not inscribe names into stone.
Only footprints decide—
will you remain as an echo,
or vanish as dust?
Gold is measured in fire,
a life is measured by its worth.
What will you choose, my friend?
But remember—
even choices fade with time.
Will you linger as an echo?
Or dissolve as dust?
The universe does not weigh names—
only the traces left behind.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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The poetry collection above which consists of poems No. 1- 9 were originally written bilingually (English-Indonesian) by Leni Marlina back in 2013, purely as a personal hobby and private collection. At that time, she was in the end of her Master of Writing and Literature program (focusing on Literary Studies, Creative Writing & Children’s Literature) in Australia, supported by an Indonesian government scholarship. Years later, these poems were revisited, revised, and, for the first time, gradually published through digital platforms in 2025.
Leni has been an active force in the literary world, particularly as a member of the Indonesian Writers Association (SATU PENA, West Sumatra Chapter) since its inception in 2022, and as part of the Indonesian AI Era Creators Community. She is also a dedicated member of the International Poets and Literary Writers Community (ACC) in Shanghai, and in 2024, she was honored with the role of Indonesian Poetry Ambassador for the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association. Her literary journey even includes previous involvement with Victoria’s Writer Association in Australia. Since 2006, she has passionately served as a lecturer in the English Language and Literature Study Program at the Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang.
Beyond her academic and literary pursuits, Leni has been instrumental in establishing and leading few digital communities that focus on literature, language, education, and social empowerment. These include:
✨ 1. World Children’s Literature Community (WCLC) – https://shorturl.at/acFv1
✨ 2. Poetry-Pen International Community – A hub for global poetic expressions
✨3. PPIPM (Pondok Puisi Inspirasi Masyarakat) – The Poetry Community of Indonesian Society’s Inspirations. https://shorturl.at/2eTSB; https://shorturl.at/tHjRI
✨4. Starcom Indonesia Community (Starmoonsun Edupreneur Community Indonesia) – https://rb.gy/5c1b02
✨ 5. Linguistic Talk Community – A space for thought-provoking discussions on language
✨ 6. Literature Talk Community – A gathering of minds passionate about literature
✨ 7. Translation Practice Community – Bridging languages through translation
✨8. English Language Learning, Literacy, and Literary Community (EL4C) – Supporting language and literacy growth.
