"OUR ANCESTRAL LAND": Poems Collection by Leni Marlina (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA)

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

/1/

OUR ANCESTRAL LAND

Poem by Leni Marlina

[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

This land was once a scripture,
writing us in roots that crept into the earth’s heart,
etching fate in the ink of rain,
singing history through the veins of trees
that now lie fallen, stripped of memory.

But we walked too far,
crossed the borders marked by ancestors,
forgot the hymns of birds,
tore maps drawn by the wind,
replaced the fields with blades of steel.

Now, the land gazes at us from its wounded depths,
hissing through its fractured skin:
“Who are you? What do you seek within my body?”

Mountains clench their silence,
forests bury their folktales,
rivers veil the mirrors
that once reflected our faces.

We call ourselves heirs,
but the land no longer knows our names.
It does not reject,
nor does it embrace,
it only remains silent—
and we know: silence is an omen for the forsaken.

Look,
our feet no longer touch the earth,
they hover in thinning air,
above a land that has erased our names
without shedding a single tear.

Padang, West Sumatra,
INDONESIA, 2013

/3/

THE LAND’S TEARS

Poem by Leni Marlina

[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

O ….my friends,
this Ramadhan,
you have returned to your birthplace,
back to the embrace of your motherland.

Once, this land was the tongue of our ancestors,
whispering the wind’s secrets to the roots,
writing legends in the scent of rain,
murmuring destiny in the ears of the grass.

This land was never silent nor still,
it breathed through golden fields of rice,
carried songs in the curves of its paddies,
awaiting seasons to tell its stories again.

Now, this land is shackled beneath asphalt,
its hands bound by mute cables,
its breath stolen by structures that forget—
the earth is a mother,
and a child who forgets his mother
loses the blessings of his own flesh.

You ask the land now imprisoned:
“Where are the voices of the elders?
Where are the prayers that once fed the roots?”
The land weeps,
but its tears slip beneath,
no longer rising as mist upon the leaves.

Padang, West Sumatra,
INDONESIA, 2013

/4/

THE RIVER AND TEARS

Poem by Leni Marlina

[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Wipe your tears there, my friends,
for your sorrow,
your longing sent to the land of your birth,
has awakened the river of remembrance.

Once, this river wrote poetry upon its surface,
its ripples caressing time,
carrying secrets of tiny boats
vanished beneath an old bridge.

Once, this river sang,
its voice stretched beneath the moon—
like a mother’s lullaby cradling her child,
like yearning swimming through our veins.

Now, the river bears only silence—
its water murky, like memories fading,
like a tale left unwritten.
Trash floats like tiny gravestones
for the fish that will never return.

This river once pulsed as the nation’s lifeblood,
but who still remembers its rhythm?
It longs to cry,
but its tears are already tainted.

The river asks the stars:
“Can you still shine upon my darkness?”
The stars answer with silence,
for they know—
some sorrows can only be healed
by time,
which weds itself to hearts willing
to release what burdens the mind.

Padang, West Sumatra, 2013

/5/

THE PRAYERS HALL’S VOICE

Poem by Leni Marlina

[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

You have been lost in the city too long,
but now you return to your village,
to the surau where we once recited verses,
where childhood laughter laced the wind.

Once, this surau was a beating heart,
its doors open to wandering souls,
its floors holding footprints
that arrived in sorrow but left in light.

Once, every dawn was a birth,
every prayer a new breath,
every bead of a tasbih a tide
pulling men closer to their Lord.

Now, the surau is a home without a voice.
Its prayer rugs remain,
but feet no longer seek their path.
Its roof stands firm,
but the adzan drowns
in the noise of the city.

The surau calls, but to whom?
It wishes to weep, but its voice is choked.
It waits,
like a grave yearning for the reading of yasin.

The surau asks time:
“Am I still a home for wandering souls,
or merely ruins,
awaiting erasure from memory?”

Padang, West Sumatra,
INDONESIA, 2013

/6/

REPLANTING THE LOST VOICES

Poem by Leni Marlina

[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Where has the flute’s melody gone?
Once, it soared upon the shoulders of the wind,
slid through the chest of Bukit Barisan,
climbed the vines of the jungle,
kissed the dew atop the rice fields,
plucked pain from the murmurs of time—
but now, it is shattered mid-scream,
drowned in an ancient silence,
like a whisper the dawn has forgotten.

Where are the folktales that ran through our veins?
Once, they flowed like Batang Anai,
hummed from elders’ lips,
woven into fingers’ wisdom,
guiding hesitant feet—
but now, they are buried in hushed mud,
scattered across soulless cities,
drowned beneath lifeless screens.

Where are the children who once traced the land?
Once, they crept through paddies,
chewed on the wind, devoured the dusk,
sank their feet into the song of the mud—
but now, they are frozen in their corners,
swallowed by hungry screens,
lulled by lights that mute the world,
forgetting the scent of earth that bore them.

O winds of Singgalang and Marapi, tell us—
is this but footprints on sand,
washed away before they are remembered?
Or will there be hands that still wish to gather,
to reclaim what was scattered,
to replant the voices that nearly died?

Padang, West Sumatra,
INDONESIA, 2013

———————————-

This collection of poems (No.1 – 6) was originally written bilingually (English-Indonesia) by Leni Marlina as a personal hobby and private collection in 2013, after she graduated her Master of Writing and Literature program (Literary Studies, Creative Writing & Children’s Literature) in Australia, funded by an Indonesian government scholarship. The poems were later revisited, revised and published digitally for the first time in 2025.

Leni Marlina is an Indonesian poet, writer, and educator whose works explore various themes of resilience, healing, and cultural identity, friendship, religy, natural environment, education, the voice of voiceless. A distinguished member of the literary world, she is affiliated with Indonesian Writer of SATU PENA- Indonesia, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, and the Forum Siti Manggopoh (FSM). Internationally, she is an active member of the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association (ACC SHILA), serving as Indonesia’s Poetry Ambassador, and has contributed to the Victoria Writers Association in Australia.

Since 2006, Leni has been a dedicated lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang (UNP), Indonesia. In addition to her academic career, she has also contributed as a columnist and part-time journalist, enriching public discourse with her insights.

Leni’s passion for literature extends beyond her own writing. She has founded and leads several impactful communities and initiatives that focus on language, literature, literacy, and social empowerment. These include:

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)

You may read the Indonesian version of the poems above in the trusted link below: