“A Fragment of Time in the Wind’s Eye”: A Poetry Collection by Leni Marlina (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesia Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesia Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA)
Illustration of "A Fragment of Time in the Wind’s Eye": A Poetry Collection by Leni Marlina (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesia Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesia Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA). Image Source: Starcom Indonesia's Artworks No. 925-82 (Assisted by AI).
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A Fragment of Time in the Wind’s Eye
Poem by Leni Marlina
(PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesia Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesia Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA)
I asked the wind that wandered past,
“Where do you run in silent breath?”
It laughed, slipping through my fingers,
“Everywhere—no path is ever bound.”
I asked the dusk, melting away,
“Are you leaving, or coming home?”
It smiled, bathing the sky in gold,
“For me, to leave and return are but names.”
So I lay my longing on the night’s shoulder,
stitching silence with the moon’s pale light,
for this world is too fleeting to hold,
and time—no more than dust in the wind’s eye.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Note: The original Indonesian title of this poem is “Sepotong Waktu di Mata Angin”.
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Horses Upon the Horizon
Poem by Leni Marlina
(PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesia Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesia Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA)
Wild horses run untethered,
skimming the edge of the sky,
leaving trails unread—
like prayers forgotten before they could rise.
They race in silence,
embers burning beneath their hooves,
hammering against the sagging heavens,
daring fate to flinch.
Are we the riders,
or only dust swept in their wake?
Where lies the bridle, if even the wind shifts course?
Or were we never meant to steer at all?
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Note: The original Indonesian title of this “Banyak Kuda di Atas Cakrawala”.
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The Abandoned Alif
Poem by Leni Marlina
(PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesia Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesia Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA)
On the sky’s vast parchment, I found an alif,
standing alone like a root without soil.
It knew not if it was the first or the last,
or merely a forgotten stroke of ink.
“Where will you go?” I asked.
It trembled, caught between the folding wind.
Perhaps it longed to return to a book that lost its voice,
or waited for a tongue to summon it home.
So I plucked a prayer from the hush,
carving its name into the constellations,
so that when the night grows too dark,
someone will search for the alif left behind.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Note:
The original Indonesian title of this poem is “Alif yang Ditinggalkan”.
“Alif” is the first alfabhet in Arabic, and the most frequent Arabic letter found in every page of Holy Muslims’ Book, Al-Quran.
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A Verse for a Machine That Dreams No More
Poem by Leni Marlina
(PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesia Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesia Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA)
I asked an old machine,
“Are you weary of dreaming?”
It exhaled steam and steel,
“How long must I be more than I am?”
I asked a sleepless screen,
“When do you rest from light?”
It chuckled, blinking its electric veins,
“Light is no rest—I am forced to shine without question.”
And so,
we sculpt our world from pixels and wires,
believing all things can be rewritten,
yet forgetting—
even machines long to stop.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Note: The original Indonesian title of this poem is “Sajak bagi Mesin yang Lelah Bermimpi”
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The Wanderers Who Never Arrive
Poem by Leni Marlina
(PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesia Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesia Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA)
Footsteps echo onward,
following roads with no end.
We are wanderers,
chasing a horizon that always withdraws.
At times, we believe we have arrived,
but the threshold always shifts,
like a line drawn in sand,
erased by waves before it can be touched.
Perhaps the world’s great secret is this:
no one arrives, nothing is ever complete.
Only the journey keeps shaping its meaning,
and the footprints become stories for those yet to walk.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Note: The original Indonesian title of this poem is “Para Pengembara yang Tak Pernah Sampai”.
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Brief Information About Author
This poetry collection was originally written bilingually (English-Indonesian) by Leni Marlina as a personal endeavor in 2013, during her final year in the Master of Writing and Literature program (Literary Studies, Creative Writing & Children’s Literature) in Australia, funded by the Indonesian government. The poems were later revised and published gradually for the first time through digital media in 2025.
Leni is an active member of SATU PENA (Indonesian Writers Association) West Sumatra Chapter since 2022, and Indonesia’s Creator Community in the AI Era. She is also a member of the ACC International Writers and Poets Community in Shanghai and, since 2024, has served as Indonesia’s Poetry Ambassador for the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association. She was previously involved in the Victoria Writers Association in Australia. Since 2006, she has been a lecturer at the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang (UNP), Indonesia.
She has also founded and led multiple digital communities and initiatives focusing on language, literature, education, and social causes, including:
1. World Children’s Literature Community (WCLC): https://shorturl.at/acFv1
2. Poetry-Pen International Community
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
6. Literature Talk Community
7. Translation Practice Community
8. English Languange Learning, Literacy, Literary Community (EL4C)
