“IN YOUR PROMISE, I TAKE SHELTER”: Poems Collection by Leni Marlina (UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia)
/1/
IN YOUR PROMISE, I TAKE SHELTER
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
I believe in you—
not for the loveliness of your words,
but because you hold them close
like roots that cradle rain—
in hush, in shadow,
yet always enough
to let something green
reaching for the sun.
The vow you spoke
was never the shimmer on a river’s skin,
but the pulse beneath it,
flowing still
when no rain falls for months.
I lay my trust in your hands
the way the sky surrenders dawn
to Earth’s quiet turning—
never hurried,
yet never failing.
And when others forget with ease,
you are the stone
that does not slip from weight,
that keeps its silence
while the seasons
change their names.
Friend,
within your promise I take shelter—
not because you are flawless,
but because you choose
to remain,
to carry,
even when the world
asks you to turn away
from all we once vowed.
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
/2/
NOT TO OWN, BUT TO KEEP
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
You never came
to question the wound—
you simply sat beside it
until the rain passed.
I do not weigh your laughter,
for I know,
within it echoes
the trace of my tears.
We were never meant
to own each other,
but to keep one another
from vanishing
in the storm—
or the feast.
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
/3/
FRIENDS’ TRUST
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
It wasn’t I
who carved your names in stone—
Time did,
with the fingers of rain
and the wounds of wind.
Friends,
this trust was never sealed,
it grew like moss:
in the quietest places,
on the side of stones
untouched by applause.
A promise is no echo—
it’s a whisper
that outlives all sound.
I know,
you carry this trust
not on your shoulders
but in the ticking of time,
and that is enough
to make you sky
for a season that sometimes forgets
where it’s going.
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
/4/
THE TRUST YOU CARRY
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
I trust you
like a forest trusts fire—
not to scorch,
but to warm
its trembling roots.
You are an ember
that knows when to stay still,
and when to turn to light
without ever becoming ash.
The trust you carry
does not explode—
it whispers,
it glows from within,
like the mountain’s heart
choosing patience
over grandeur.
Friend,
I never ask you for the promise.
I live inside it,
like a seed within a fruit
that never questions
who will plant it one day.
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
/5/
THE SKY WITHIN MY FRIEND’S HEART
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
There is a second sky
hidden in my friend’s chest—
not the one where birds soar,
but where promises gather
in stillness,
like stars
waiting for night to fall.
Every trust I leave with you
never disappears—
it becomes a constellation,
burning,
but never blinding.
Friend,
you do not carry my words
as a burden—
you hold them
the way night holds light:
not by gripping,
yet never letting go.
And I know
my trust lives there—
not as hope,
but as part
of the unseen heart
of the sky
that is always present,
even when invisible.
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
/6/
A PROMISE WITHOUT WINGS
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
I placed your words
on a stone facing the sun—
not to test them,
but so they’d stay warm
when the night grows too long and cold.
You never swore,
but I saw a flame
between the pauses in your voice,
like a small lantern
deep in a cave
no crowd ever enters.
That promise has no wings—
it does not fly,
but endures,
like a root
burrowing into the earth’s belly,
refusing to die
even when no rain visits.
I trust you
because you never bargained
with the weight of trust—
you bore it
like a mountain’s back
holds the sky,
without ever asking:
for whom are the clouds gathered,
for whom does the rain fall?
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
/7/
THE PART OF YOUR HEART YOU LEFT WITH ME
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
You placed your trust in my hands
like dew entrusting its secret
to a leaf that will fall
by tomorrow morning.
No vows were made—
only a bowed glance,
but I knew:
you entrusted me with a shard of the world
that must not fall
in vain.
And I accepted it,
not as a burden,
but as a tree
welcomes a falling leaf—
not as an end,
but as part of its wholeness.
Your trust became a season
I could not delay,
and still I stand,
even as my branches weaken,
because I believe:
what you left in my care
was not just a duty—
but a part
of your own heart.
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
/8/
YOUR PROMISE BENEATH THE SKIN OF TIME
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Friends,
the promise you spoke that day
still lives beneath the skin of my time.
It makes no sound,
yet warms the night
like a fire
that needs no blaze
to understand
the meaning of faithfulness.
I believe in you—
not because you showed strength,
but because you showed
the wound you protect
without ever dropping
what you carry.
That trust—
you do not clutch it tightly,
you carry it within your heart.
And I know:
you are light
that asks for no name,
yet always arrives
when all the stars
choose absence.
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
/9/
WAITING FOR YOUR RETURN
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
I donot count the days,
nor memorize due dates—
for the love you once borrowed
does not bloom in human markets,
but flowers
in gardens unmapped
by calculation.
Friends,
I didn’t write your name in a ledger of debts,
but in a quiet page
only a soul
still alive
can read.
I believe:
you are not mist
pretending to be rain—
you are a cloud
that knows when to return
bearing rainbows,
even when the sky does not ask.
Time may hunch,
seasons may stumble,
but your promise—
though voiceless—
has become the tremble
among branches that still wait
though storms have broken them.
So return—
not with gold,
not dragging apologies,
but simply as yourself:
a wound that longs to fulfill,
a love that yearns to redeem,
a sky that remembers
its vow to the earth.
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
/10/
THE BRIDGE OF FRIENDSHIP
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Don’t ask who among us
gave first—
for among the unspoken promises,
we are one river
seeking the sea.
We’ve been stones,
we’ve been leaves,
we’ve been shadows
falling on opposite walls
waiting for sunlight
from opposing sides.
Yet we never named
an end—
because friendship is a bridge
that knows no shore—
only steps of trust
even when words fall silent.
Be the wind
that returns to the tree that calls,
and I the root
that never intends
to fall away from loyalty.
For even the sky
never abandons its duty
though night may fall
a thousand times
on our chests.
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
/11/
FOR LOVE KNOWS THE WAY HOME
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, Literacy Community, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
I don’t wait for you
with fingers counting days,
nor etch time
on the wall of disappointment.
I wait for you
as the earth waits for rain—
with patience
and without pleading.
There is something softer than promise,
brighter than debts and ledgers—
it is called trust.
I trust you
like the sea trusts the sky,
though the clouds don’t always
return the blue.
For it is not paper
that writes loyalty—
but breath
that names you still
in silence.
O friends,
we were once one path
called mutual trust,
and you left something in me—
not numbers,
but the charge of conscience
from your very soul.
I know
you will return.
Not to repay a figure,
but to fulfill your truth,
for your spirit is a covenant
that does not betray itself.
Look at the flowers which
never ask the bee to come;
they simply blooms.
And when the time comes,
all that once departed will return—
not because they were summoned,
but because they missed
their origin.
And when you arrive,
I won’t say,
“At last.”
I’ll welcome you
with my brightest smile,
like springtime night,
for even the stars know:
everything that shines
must return
to its truest light.
Victoria, Australia, 2012
Revisited and refined by the poet in Padang, West Sumatra,
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, 2025
—————————–
About the Poet: Leni Marlina
Leni Marlina is a writer, poet, and lecturer from Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA. Deeply rooted in the realms of literature and education, she has long been a passionate advocate for literacy movements across local, national, and international platforms.
Since 2022, Leni Marlina has been an active member of the Indonesian Writers Association (SATU PENA) – West Sumatra Branch, under the leadership of Chairperson: Sastri Bakry and Secretary: Armaidi Tanjung.
In May 2025, she was honored with the prestigious title of Outstanding Writer of the Year by Satu Pena West Sumatra during the Gala Dinner of the 3rd International Minangkabau Literacy Festival (IMLF-3), held at the Governor’s Auditorium in West Sumatra on May 9th, 2025. The recognition was a tribute to her significant contributions to literature and her dedication to promoting literary culture in Indonesia and beyond.
Internationally, Leni Marlina is a member of the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association (ACC SHILA), led by renowned Chinese poet Anna Keiko. Since 2024, she has served as Indonesia’s Poetry Ambassador for ACC SHILA, and in 2025, she was appointed Chief Representative of Poetry in Asia for the ACC SHILA Ambassadorial Group—fostering poetic and cultural diplomacy between Indonesia and the global community.
That same year, she also joined the World Poetry Movement (WPM) – Indonesia, coordinated by Sastri Bakry, with the movement’s global headquarters based in Colombia.
Earlier in her career, while pursuing her master’s degree in writing and literature in Australia (2011–2013), Leni became a member of the Victorian Writers Association, further enriching her engagement with international literary circles.
In addition to her accolades and memberships, Leni organized a major literary event on May 31, 2025: Poetry BLaD (Poetry Book Launching and Discussion) and IOSoP (International Online Seminar on Poetry). The program was sponsored by Suara Anak Negeri News in collaboration with the English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang—showcasing her commitment to developing literary forums and nurturing poetic dialogue across cultures.
Since 2006, Leni has served as a lecturer at the Department of English Literature, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang, where she actively contributes to the university’s threefold mission: teaching, research, and community service. She mentors students in language, literature, creative writing, and academic composition.
Leni’s passion for literacy and community development is reflected in several social and digital-based initiatives she founded and leads, including:
1. World Children’s Literature Community (WCLC)
2. Poetry-Pen International Community (PPIC)
3. PPIPM-Indonesia (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
Starcom
5. Linguistic Talk Community (Ling-TC)
6. Literature Talk Community (Littalk-C)
7. Translation Practice Community (Trans-PC)
8. English Language Learning, Literacy, and Literary Community (EL4C)
Beyond the walls of academia, Leni also engages as a freelance journalist, columnist, editor, and digital media contributor. Her published works can be accessed by the public via this official link: https://suaraanaknegerinews.com/category/puisi-leni-marlina-bagi-anak-bangsa
