/1/
FRIENDSHIP AND HUMANITY FOR LOVE OF PEACE (Part 2): Kapuas River – Where Friendship Flows and Humanity Breathes
Poem by Leni Marlina
(INDONESIA)
Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of the Era AI, West Sumatra Literacy Community, ASM, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
From the veins of Borneo island,
Kapuas river flows not just as water—
but as a sacred breath
carrying the scent of old friendships
and the quiet pulse of humanity
that refuses to forget love
even in times of loss.
Its ripples are not mere waves,
they are handshakes
between strangers who become kin,
echoes of laughter that traveled
from one shore to another,
across languages,
across bruised histories,
across prayers too humble for words.
O Kapuas,
you teach us that peace
is not built by power,
but by presence.
By staying.
By giving space for another soul to live
without fear,
without being silenced.
Your current gathers no army—
only stories.
Only songs.
Only the kind of silence
that listens before speaking.
Along your banks,
friendship grows like the mangroves—
bending, but never breaking.
Rooted not in sameness,
but in understanding.
And the children—
they draw peace not from books,
but from the way your waters carry
a fisherman’s chant,
a mother’s call,
a stranger’s offering
left on the dock without a name.
Kapuas,
you are not only the river of a land,
but the bloodstream of a world
that still hopes—
for a day when humanity
stops measuring skin and borders,
and starts recognizing the shared thirst
to love
and to be loved
without war.
You are the rhythm of reconciliation,
a song sung in the quiet of the jungle
where peace does not shout—
but lives,
flowing quietly
through every heart willing
to become a river
for others to cross.
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, January 2025
/2/
THE PSALM OF PONTIANAK
Poem by Harlym Yeo
(MALAYSIA)
[Poetry-Pen International Community]
Malay & Indonesian – English Translator:
Leni Marlina
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
This journey—
no mere passage through space,
but an inward voyage
where the soul finds meaning
in the lucent gaze of Kapuas
and the hush of whispering canopies.
Pontianak,
your river is no ordinary stream;
it is an open psalter of water,
singing epics from highland to delta—
of skiffs that vanish into silence,
of maidens weeping for fallen knights,
of nights that stroll
beneath a moon veiled in silver hymns.
Pontianak,
a city where breath mingles with spirit,
dancing to rhythms the eye cannot see;
each narrow street carries a voice,
each dish cradles a memory—
fiery fish steeped in ancestral longing,
dark-roasted coffee brewed
with the secrets of old kitchens.
Here, I lift my hands to the heavens,
returning with blessings
drawn deep from unseen wells;
abundance flows without end,
like Kapuas herself—
a river that never learns to end.
Pontianak, Borneo Island, June 11th–14th, 2024.
——————————————–
HARLYM YEO
Poet | Performer | Cultural Voice
Harlym Yeo—the pen name of Yeo Hock Lim—is a celebrated Malaysian poet, born in Kelantan with Peranakan Chinese roots, now based in Selangor. A dynamic force in literature and performance, he is renowned for his commanding poetry recitations, earning him the title “Warrior of Poetry” for his passionate, soul-stirring delivery on stages both local and international.
A former Strategic Communications Executive of the National Poets Association (PEMUISI), Harlym is also a lifetime member of PENA and PENYAIR. His works have been featured in numerous major anthologies including Menganyam Tikar Peradaban, Rumpun Luhur, and Permata Jiwa (2025). He is a recipient of the Citra Jasa Budi Award (UUM, 2022) and an Honorary Member of the Writers Capital International Foundation (India).
Beyond the page, he has led as editor of magazines across genres, written literary columns for national media, mentored international students, and hosted Malaysian TV shows such as Selamat Pagi Malaysia. Harlym continues to bridge language, culture, and performance—bringing poetry to life with every breath and every word.
/3/
In the Veins of the Earth, the Kapuas River is Born
Poem by Leni Marlina
(INDONESIA)
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of the Era AI, West Sumatra Literacy Community, ASM, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Kapuas, you are not born of rain,
but from the quiet memory
that lingers in the earth’s deepest breath—
a thread of water weaving through the bones of history,
carrying whispers from ancient roots
to a world trembling on the edge of its own wounds.
You do not merely flow,
you remember the forgotten names,
raising friendship like leaves that cling
to branches, undeterred,
as the seasons pass, ever seeking peace.
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, January 2025
/4/
Kapuas River: A Humanitarian Message from the Land of Kalimantan
Poem by Leni Marlina
(INDONESIA)
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of the Era AI, West Sumatra Literacy Community, ASM, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Kapuas – Kalimantan,
you are not merely a river,
you are the ancient pulse that never breaks,
carrying not just water—
but unfinished memories
of ancestors
who stored life’s battles
in roots unshaken by storms.
Kapuas,
along your long body,
the forest shivers and prays in silence,
the jungle chants its verses through the morning mist,
and humankind—called inhabitants—
learns to listen not with ears
but with a soul
that bows
to the Creator
who shaped this land in boundless grace.
Kapuas,
beside you,
children weave laughter on wooden docks,
canoes whisper silent songs
from Dayak to Malay,
from tribe to tribe,
from the stories of planters and fishers,
from the language of water
to a tongue older than any alphabet:
the language of human existence.
Kapuas,
you never ask who passes—
you only give, by God’s permission—
giving paths, breath, sustenance,
and the understanding that peace
is not an end
but a way of flowing
without sweeping the weak aside.
Your whirlpools are questions
that require no answers,
only the courage
to dive deep
not measured by logic
but by the bravery
to not possess all things in the world.
You, Kapuas,
do not refuse the poisons of time,
but hold them in your stillness
as dense as wisdom.
You are a wound that never screams,
yet still you heal.
And we—
who once forgot how to be fully human—
learn again through your current
that strength lies not in damming,
but in allowing others to live,
to flow,
to become.
Kapuas,
you are not merely a river
celebrated by the archipelago.
You are a global poem
born from the equator,
sung by the wind,
and memorized by those
whose hearts have once been shattered
yet chose to flow
without revenge—
to make peace with their lives,
for the peace of the world.
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, January 2025
/5/
Kapuas: A Humanitarian Message from the Land of Kalimantan
Poem by Leni Marlina
(INDONESIA)
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of the Era AI, West Sumatra Literacy Community, ASM, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Kapuas – Kalimantan,
you are not merely a river,
you are the ancient pulse that never breaks,
carrying not just water—
but unfinished memories
of ancestors
who stored life’s battles
in roots unshaken by storms.
Kapuas,
along your long body,
the forest shivers and prays in silence,
the jungle chants its verses through the morning mist,
and humankind—called inhabitants—
learns to listen not with ears
but with a soul
that bows
to the Creator
who shaped this land in boundless grace.
Kapuas,
beside you,
children weave laughter on wooden docks,
canoes whisper silent songs
from Dayak to Malay,
from tribe to tribe,
from the stories of planters and fishers,
from the language of water
to a tongue older than any alphabet:
the language of human existence.
Kapuas,
you never ask who passes—
you only give, by His permission—
giving paths, breath, sustenance,
and the understanding that peace
is not an end
but a way of flowing
without sweeping the weak aside.
Your whirlpools are questions
that require no answers,
only the courage
to dive deep
not measured by logic
but by the bravery
to not possess all things in the world.
You, Kapuas,
do not refuse the poisons of time,
but hold them in your stillness
as dense as wisdom.
You are a wound that never screams,
yet still you heal.
And we—
who once forgot how to be fully human—
learn again through your current
that strength lies not in damming,
but in allowing others to live,
to flow,
to become.
Kapuas,
you are not merely a river
celebrated by the archipelago.
You are a global poem
born from the equator,
sung by the wind,
and memorized by those
whose hearts have once been shattered
yet chose to flow
without revenge—
to make peace with their lives,
for the peace of the world.
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, January 2025
/6/
In the Veins of the Earth, the Kapuas River is Born
by Leni Marlina
Kapuas, you are not born of rain,
but from the quiet memory
that lingers in the earth’s deepest breath—
a thread of water weaving through the bones of history,
carrying whispers from ancient roots
to a world trembling on the edge of its own wounds.
You do not merely flow,
you remember the forgotten names,
raising friendship like leaves that cling
to branches, undeterred,
as the seasons pass, ever seeking peace.
Padang, West Sumatra, January 2025
/6/
The River Who Teaches Us to Be Fully Human
One day,
when human tongues forget how to speak of love,
let Kapuas River in Kalimantan sing—
with a current that never seeks revenge,
though tainted, scarred, and forsaken.
In your depths, friendship blooms
without condition, without banner, without border.
This river does not judge who is worthy of kinship;
it simply flows,
gives life,
and forgives.
For true peace
belongs only to those
who can bear the weight of their wounds
without turning them into poison.
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, January 2025
LENI MARLINA
Image source: Doc.of LM Starmonsun.
Poet | Writer| Lecturer
Leni Marlina — writer, poet, and lecturer at Universitas Negeri Padang. Founder and Head of PPIPM-Indonesia and Poetry-Pen International Community. Active member of ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association and Satu Pena (West Sumatra).
Image source: Doc.of LM Starmonsun.
The poetry collection above was written by Leni Marlina in January 2025. The poems had not been published on any platform prior to its inaugural digital release through the national literary portal suaraanaknegerinews.com that same year.
Leni Marlina is a writer, poet, and a lecturer from West Sumatra, Indonesia. She has been an active member of the Indonesian Writers Association (SATU PENA), West Sumatra Chapter, since its inception in 2022. Internationally, she is affiliated with the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association (ACC SHILA), where she has been appointed as the Indonesian Poetry Ambassador. Her global literary engagement includes a formative involvement with the Victorian Writers Association in Australia.
Since 2006, Leni has served as a civil servant lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Languages and Arts, at Universitas Negeri Padang (UNP), INDONESIA. Beyond the academic sphere, she is part of the editorial board at suaraanaknegerinews.com and contributes regularly to various national online media and digital literary communities.
Her publicly available poems can be accessed at:
https://suaraanaknegerinews.com/category/puisi-leni-marlina-bagi-anak-bangsa
In addition to her writing, Leni Marlina is the founder and leader of several digital communities that center on language, literature, literacy, and social engagement. These include:
1. World Children’s Literature Community (WCLC): https://shorturl.at/acFv1
2. Poetry-Pen International Community (PPIC)
3. PPIPM-Indonesia (Poetry Community of Indonesian Society’s Inspirations):
a. https://shorturl.at/2eTSB;
b. https://shorturl.at/tHjR
4. Starcom Indonesia Community (Starmoonsun Edupreneur Community Indonesia):
https://rb.gy/5c1b02
5. Linguistic Talk Community (Ling-TC)
6. Literature Talk Community (Littalk-C)
7. Translation Practice Community (Trans-PC)
8. English Language Learning, Literacy, Literary Community (EL4C)
Through her poetry and leadership in community initiatives, Leni Marlina continues to infuse new energy into Indonesia’s literary and educational landscape. Her work bridges cultural and generational dialogues, offering a profound poetic vision in response to the challenges and transformations of the digital age.
