Leni Marlina’s Bilingual Poem: “The Voice of the Forest”

The Voice of Forest

Poem by Leni Marlina
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I shudder beneath your tread my roots clutch the living earth,
fibers murmuring like ancient ghosts, soil vibrating with hidden heartbeat.
Leaves whip the air, raking shards of sunlight,
tracing your skin with shadows, piercing your eyes,
weaving light into the strands of your hair.

My timber torn, green wrenched from sight,
the river suspends its breath, trembling in suspended silver,
while birds vanish, leaving the sky a hollow drum.
The wind carries ash and bitterness,
the taste of fire, the scent of rain, the pulse of life abandoned.

Touch me: moist soil clinging to your palms,
coarse roots mapping the curves of your fingers,
chill leaves brushing your skin,
water flowing into bone, embedding its pulse into marrow.

Smell me: humus deep and damp, mushrooms swelling with secret life,
sap dripping like molten amber tears, smoke slicing nostrils;
the fragrance of ruin, of rain-soaked earth,
the breath of living I feared you would ignore.

Taste me: bitter river water, lingering earth,
fallen leaves, the bittersweet sap of rain,
every flavor etched into your blood,
woven into the rhythm of your heartbeat.

Machines arrive; iron teeth dance in cruel jest,
trunks shiver, I collapse but my voice endures.
Your hands are roots, your eyes are leaves,
your heart drums with my own pulse;
feel fear, ache, tremble, wither, and rise anew.

Children gaze upon the ruin,
eyes beseeching the silent air:
“Where shall we breathe?”
I roar:
“Do not sever roots still thrumming,
do not silence lungs that surge with longing!
Let my green pulse through your veins,
in your blood, your breath,
through every chamber of your living body!”

Water hushes lies; soil refuses silence,
mushrooms, worms, seeds stir in clandestine rhythm,
weaving life from fragments,
teaching that the world will rise again
if you listen with hands, feet, skin, ears, heart.

I plant, I tremble, I speak:
your hands in my soil, your feet in my blood,
guilt transformed into motion, not idle words.
I am no display, no ornament,
I live, I breathe,
and we beat as one pulse.

Rise and awake, O humans.
Roots quiver, leaves swallow shards of light,
wind slips across your skin, pierces the marrow of your soul.
Hear me:
“Save me, or taste my anguish and wrath
coursing through your veins,
because of forest you have torn asunder.”

_

Sumatra (After the Flash Flood), Indonesia, 2026

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About the Poet: Leni Marlina

Leni Marlina was born in Baso, Agam, West Sumatra, and is currently based in Padang, Indonesia. She is a poet, writer, and senior lecturer in the English Literature Program at the Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang, where she has taught since 2006.
Her recent publications include the single-author poetry collections The Beloved Teachers (2025) and L-BEAUMANITY: Love, Beauty, and Humanity (2025), as well as the English Stories for Literacy trilogy (2024–2025). In addition to poetry, she actively writes short stories, essays, literary criticism, and reviews, and is deeply engaged in translating literary and journalistic texts.
In recognition of her contributions to literature and literacy, Marlina received the Best Writer Award 2025 from SatuPena West Sumatra at the 3rd International Minangkabau Literary Festival (IMLF-3), the ACC International Literary Prize 2025 from the ACC Shanghai Huiyu International Literary Creative Media Centre, and an international literary recognition from The Rhythm of Vietnam community (2025).
Since 2025, she has been officially appointed as the Indonesian Poetry Ambassador for the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association (ACC SHILA) and concurrently serves as the ASEAN Director for ACC SHILA Poets. In the same year, she was entrusted by the Capital Writers International Foundation as National Director (Indonesia) for the Panorama International Literary Festival (PILF), held in India from January to February 2026.
(Festival information: www.panoramafestival.org)

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Indonesian Version

Suara Hutan

Puisi: Leni Marlina
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Aku bergetar di bawah kakimu, akar menjerat tanah,
serabutku berdesis, tanahku berdengung.
Daun menampar udara, mencakar cahaya,
membekas di kulit, menusuk mata, menyisir rambutmu.

Kayuku tercabut, hijau terangkat,
sungai menahan napas, airnya gemetar, beriak.
Burung-burung pergi, langit sunyi,
dan angin membawaw serpihan abu dan rasa pahit.

Sentuh aku: tanah lembab menempel di telapak,
akar kasar menyalin lekuk jari,
daun dingin menyapu kulit,
air mengalir, meresap, membekas di tulangmu.

Cium aku: humus basah, jamur yang mengembang,
getah yang menetes, asaps yang menyayat hidungmu,
bau kehancuran, bau hujan, bau kehidupan yang kau abaikan.

Rasakan di lidah: air pahit sungai, tanah yang tersisa,
daun yang runtuh, pahit manis hujan dan getah,
semua rasa ini menempel di darahmu.

Mesin datang, gigi besi beraksi kejam,
batang pohon terguncang, aku tersungkur.
Tapi aku tetap berbisik, tanganmu adalah akar,
matamu adalah daun, hatimu bisa merasakan denyutku,
merasakan takut, perih, gemetar, mati layu dan tumbuh kembali.

Anak-anak menatap reruntuhan,
mata mereka menanyakan bisu:
“Di mana tempat kami bernafas?”
Aku berteriak:
“Jangan putuskan akar yang masih menjerit,
jangan diamkan paru-paru yang masih bergelora.
Rasakan hijauku di tubuhmu, di darahmu, di napasmu!”

Air menenangkan kebohongan, tanah menolak diam,
jamur, cacing, benih bergerak perlahan,
menyusun ulang hidup dari serpihan,
mengajarkan: dunia akan menegak lagi
jika kau mendengar dengan tangan, kaki, kulit, telinga, hati.

Aku menanam, aku bergetar, aku berbicara: tanganmu di tanahku, kakimu di darahku,
rasa bersalah menjadi gerak, bukan kata.
Aku bukan pajangan, aku bukan hiasan,
aku hidup, aku bernapas,
dan kita satu denyut.

Bangkit dan sadarlah, wahai manusia.
Akar bergetar, daun menelan cahaya,
angin merayap di kulit, menusuk hati.
Dengarlah aku:
“Selamatkan aku, atau rasakan perih dan murkaku di dalam tubuh dan hidupmu, karena hutan yang dihancurkan sedari dulu.”

_

Sumatra (Setelah Banjir Bandang surut), NKRI, 2026
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Leni Marlina lahir di Baso, Agam, Sumbar, dan berdomisili di Padang. Ia merupakan penyair, penulis, dan dosen di Program Studi Sastra Inggris, FBS UNP Padang (sejak 2006).
Karya-karya terbarunya meliputi buku kumpulan puisi tunggal “The Beloved Teachers” (2025), “L-BEAUMANITY: Love, Beauty, and Humanity” (2025), serta trilogi “English Stories for Literacy” (2024-2025). Selain menulis puisi, ia aktif menulis cerpen, esai, kritik sastra, ulasan karya sastra, serta menerjemahkan beragam teks sastra dan jurnalistik.

Leni menerima penghargaan Best Writer 2025 dari SatuPena Sumbar pada International Minangkabau Literary Festival ke-3 (IMLF-3), penghargaan ACC International Literary Prize 2005 dari ACC Shanghai Huiyu International Literary Creative Media Centre, penghargaan dari komunitas sastra “The Rhythm of Vietnam” 2025.
Leni ditunjuk dan dipercayakan sebagai Indonesian Poetry Ambassador untuk ACC Shanghai Huifeng Internatioanl Literary Association (ACC SHILA), sekaligus the ASEAN Directors for ACC SHILA Poets sejak tahun 2025. Di tahun yang sama, Leni ditunjuk dan dipercayakan oleh Capital Writers International Foundation sebagai National Director (Indonesia) untuk Panorama International Literary Festival (PILF) Januari-Februari 2026 di India. (Informasi acara selengkapnya: www.panoramafestival.org).