/1/
WHEN THE MORNING CALLS YOU
Poem by Leni Marlina
Morning calls you in the sharpest of hues,
as though it wishes to scrape away
the lingering shadows beneath your eyelids.
Yet you stand steadfast, enduring,
like one who knows
that light is a fleeting companion.
Something lingers from last night—
a hope too heavy to carry,
or a regret too clamorous to hush.
It now gathers, coagulates,
taking on shapes unknown,
impossible for even shadows to imitate.
You do not tidy it.
You carry it
within each step,
letting it become the floor
upon which you relearn
how to walk again.
And when the sun finally
traces warmth along your back,
you realize:
life is not only the bright lights
we have once embraced,
but the courage
to shoulder the darkness
we have yet to cast aside.
Melbourne, Australia 2011 & Padang, Sumbar, 2025
/2/
THE BODY OF NIGHT THAT MAKES YOU SHIVER
Poem by Leni Marlina
You arrive on a night that shivers,
bearing the sound of water
long denied by sky and soil.
The moon lays its oldest whispers on your shoulders—
for it knows: even wounds
emit a secret light
when hidden behind a human’s quietude.
The wind combs your steps
like an ancient musician,
choosing the lowest notes
to unravel a song of sorrow.
Yet still you walk,
allowing fragments of your heart
to strike the pavement
like nameless stars falling
through an uncharted sky.
No thread, no needle—
only the fabric of fortitude
woven upon the quietest ruins,
like a wild root
that seeks life
even when seasons erase its traces.
In your shadow, you understand:
humanity is night itself—
an empty expanse that wounds endlessly,
yet never ceases
to call and gather the light.
Melbourne, Australia 2011 & Padang, Sumbar, 2025
/3/
THE CORE WITHIN YOUR SOUL
Poem by Leni Marlina
A core resides within your soul,
constructed from the dust of passing time
and footsteps lost before reaching home.
There, you guard the secret of your name,
so the world may not summon you
with tones that reopen old scars.
Its walls are not stone,
but memories,
hardened into ancient minerals.
As you breathe,
the space trembles—
wanting to collapse,
wanting to speak,
wanting to return
to the sky that once gave you a voice.
Yet you look forward,
letting silence rest upon your shoulders
like an old guardian
who has too often
watched over prayers for what was lost.
We have all lost ourselves,
but you are the bravest,
letting that loss sit quietly on your lap,
undaunted by the void
that swallows your name.
Melbourne, Australia 2011 & Padang, Sumbar, 2025
/4/
A RIVER SHATTERED WITHIN YOU
Poem by Leni Marlina
You think the sound is heavy rain—
yet a river bursts within you.
Its waters seek hidden paths
through corridors long closed,
sealed with laughter
that never spoke truth.
Outside, the world jostles, chasing time;
inside, the river builds a clandestine kingdom.
It brings currents, fragments,
lifting the ruins
of all you once called strength,
dismantling them
without apology.
Yet you stand
at the edge of your own smile,
letting the ripples separate
what must be saved
from what must sink.
No one sees:
today’s courage is yesterday’s flood—
a flood you allowed
to teach you how to stand
when the world within
crumbles around you.
Melbourne, Australia 2011 & Padang, Sumbar, 2025
/5/
A CITY BREATHING THROUGH YOUR WOUNDS
Poem by Leni Marlina
You walk within a city
whose age creeps along its walls,
a city that kisses human wounds
like a wild animal
searching for fire in the dark.
Its dim lights regard you
with eyes accustomed
to witnessing loss without blinking.
Yet strangely, the city is gentle.
It speaks through broken sidewalks,
through smudged windows,
through the roar of vehicles
echoing your own weary heart—
a heart that refuses surrender
though burdened by the world.
You do not mend life;
you let it resonate:
allow suffering
its own voice,
exhaustion its final breath,
without your silence.
And there, you behold yourself—
a human not seeking victory,
but seeking ways
to keep your heart aflame
even when the glow is faint,
and night rises again.
Melbourne, Australia 2011 & Padang, Sumbar, 2025
/6/
FROM THE SILENT PETALS BLOOMING IN THE SKY’S CHEST
Poem by Leni Marlina
We are born from silent petals blooming
in the chest of the sky,
from light falling slowly
into the patient womb of the earth.
Our first blood is not red,
but a trembling orange glow,
hovering between loss and possibility.
A note yet to find its music,
a breath that forgets
who first gave it voice.
Since then, love has sewn our bodies
with threads of light.
It writes our names upon the wind’s brow,
so every passing gust
always carries a trace of home.
Yet along the way, we forget.
We build walls of busyness,
calling them life.
We trade silence for noise,
and forget to hear
how the earth prays without sound.
Mountains rise within us—
spewing magma of desire,
while valleys in our hearts
seek only calm,
holding reflections of the sky.
The earth speaks:
through children’s eyes in refugee tents,
through a mother’s hands closing night windows,
through the sea returning nameless bodies.
And the sky bows,
as if finally understanding
the loss it created.
Yet among the ruins,
something refuses to die—
a faint vibration from love’s womb, whispering:
“You need not be perfect to shine.
Simply be present, and let your gentleness work.”
Then the moon arrives, a tender hand touching the wound.
It rolls sorrow into seeds
and plants them within our chest.
From there grows awareness,
leaves of prayer,
roots seeking gratitude’s source.
Clouds learn to cry gracefully,
wind learns to embrace without shaking,
light learns to bow
so as not to blind love.
And we understand—
to be human is not merely to struggle,
but to immerse ourselves
in love’s rhythm, making peace
with self and world.
We are neither victors nor victims,
only a garden growing
under the rain of consciousness.
And when the light returns home,
it will recognize us
as a dwelling that once embraced it
without condition.
Melbourne, Australia 2011 & Padang, Sumbar, 2025
——
About the Poet: Leni Marlina
Leni Marlina was born in Baso, Agam, West Sumatra, and now resides in Padang. She is a poet, writer, and lecturer at the English Literature Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang (since 2006).
Since penning her first verses in 2000, Leni Marlina has crafted thousands of poems that trace the inner struggles of the heart, contemplative reflections, urgent environmental and social concerns, enduring humanistic ideas, and a timeless longing for peace. Her words, both delicate and resonant, often bridge the quiet of introspection with the clarity of insight, inviting readers into spaces where thought, emotion, and spirit converge.
During her Master of Writing and Literature studies in Melbourne (2011–2013), she continued to write without pause—using poetry as a sanctuary of awareness, a mirror for the soul, and a compass toward deeper understanding of self and world. Since 2024, she has opened this “ocean of words” to the public through multiple digital platforms, sharing her verse as a living conversation with readers everywhere.
Her recent works include The Beloved Teachers, L-BEAUMANITY (Love, Beauty, and Humanity), and the Trilogy of English Stories for Literacy—a seamless interweaving of devotion, language, and humanistic values. Beyond poetry, she engages in short stories, essays, literary criticism, reviews, and translation of both literary and journalistic texts. Her works appear in various anthologies and digital publications, reflecting a commitment to both craft and outreach.
Outside her academic duties at Universitas Negeri Padang, Leni actively participates in national and international literary communities, founding and leading several literacy initiatives adapted to the dynamics of the digital era. She is the founder and chair of multiple social, literary, and digital movements, including the Pondok Puisi Inspirasi Masyarakat (PPIPM-Indonesia): Indonesian Poetry Readers and Writers Community, Poetry-Pen International Community (PPIC), Literature Talk Community (Littalk-C), and EL4C (English Language Learning, Literature, and Literacy). Through these initiatives, she fosters a culture of reading, writing, dialogue, and reflection across generations.
In recognition of her tireless contributions to literacy and literature, Leni Marlina received the Best Writer 2025 award from SatuPena West Sumatra during the 3rd International Minangkabau Literary Festival (IMLF-3), and the ACC International Literary Prize 2025 from the ACC Shanghai Huiyu International Literary Creative Media Centre.
Through her poetry, scholarship, and community work, Leni Marlina continues to cultivate spaces where words blossom into awareness, empathy, and shared human experience—reminding us that literature is both a mirror and a lamp, reflecting the depths of the self while illuminating the paths that connect us all.
In 2025, she was appointed as Indonesia Poetry Ambassador for the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association (ACC SHILA), as well 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 International Panorama Literary Festival (IPLF 2026, (www.panoramafestival.org)
Festival Sastra Panorama Internasional (PILF) 2026 Angkat Tema Bumi di Tengah Krisis Global
