“PEACE AT THE ROOT OF TIME”: Poems Collection by Leni Marlina (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu, Indonesian Creators of AI Era, FSM, Lightbearers of Literacy, ACC SHILA)
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PEACE AT THE ROOT OF TIME
Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu, Indonesian Creators of AI Era, FSM, Lightbearers of Literacy, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Before weapons found a tongue to curse,
before the earth had tasted fear,
a thread of shadow coiled in the soil’s deep veins—
that was peace:
unnamed,
unhymned,
unclaimed by price or power.
It lived upon the brow of dew,
in the breath of a newborn’s sigh,
where every pulse
still bore the gift to forgive.
We write not with the tongue of language,
but from wounds that chose not to hate.
From bones that once fractured in silence,
yet never learned to retaliate.
We carry voices—not to shatter—
but to span a bridge of sorrow,
from grief to grief, like prayer over water.
This is no poem—it is a wing
risen from rubble.
It is an embrace,
etched in letters unseen,
by mothers who buried their children,
yet still chose to plant trees,
not bombs.
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2007
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Peace Is Not in the Sound
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu, Indonesian Creators of AI Era, FSM, Lightbearers of Literacy, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
I did not find peace in the sky,
but in the cracked earth—
its sob held back with trembling lips.
Not among the claps of treaties signed,
but on walls inscribed with dust and sorrow.
Peace is not sound,
but silence—
carved by time,
choosing never to scream.
I heard peace
when the last stone
murmured the name
of a child who never had one.
It did not speak,
but the soil understood
the gesture of a body gone without goodbye.
Peace is a mother—
lighting her stove,
not for food,
but to warm the shadows
of a child who never returned.
Peace is a child—
drawing suns with charcoal
on refugee walls,
believing that alone
could awaken morning.
It is not a pact,
but a fast from vengeance.
Not a flag,
but breath refusing to become ash.
If you seek peace on a map,
you’ll find it in the place
stripped from legend—
where bones and soil commune,
rewriting sacred verses
in the ink of tears that never fell.
And if no one remembers,
let the stones remember.
Stones ask for no reasons to be loyal.
The earth never rejects secrets.
The sky never interrupts grief.
Peace—
is what we keep alive
even when we know
the world may never hold it.
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2007
/3/
Peace Is Not on the Surface
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu, Indonesian Creators of AI Era, FSM, Lightbearers of Literacy, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Water—
not merely a stream in motion,
but a guide that pierces
the locked walls of a withered heart.
It is not just a river,
but a womb that births wounds
and erases them without mourning.
Peace is not found
upon the shimmering surface
that mirrors only passing shadows.
Peace dwells in the depths,
where water dissolves spoken names,
carrying them into the hush
of an embrace that never speaks.
I drink not to quench thirst
but to remember
what once vanished
from a self long estranged.
Within the current,
there flows the unnamed—
ripples deeper than words.
Water is memory in motion,
sliding over forgotten stones.
It does not ask why;
it simply moves—
wherever it is allowed,
bearing no hatred in its tide.
Peace—
not in the clash of waves or foaming roar,
but within the calm
that conceals entire worlds beneath.
It is not silence,
but the lost voice
behind soft gestures
that soothe without sound.
Water,
you mend the wounds
no eyes have seen within the human chest.
You are not to be kept,
but to carry
what has long been still—
sorrow, joy,
you receive them all
before vanishing
into the untouched sea.
And should one day
the water cease—
do not wonder.
For what was once full
must empty again,
and peace
will no longer be found
in a world that chose forgetting.
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2007
/4/
Peace Is Not in the Lofty Sky
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu, Indonesian Creators of AI Era, FSM, Lightbearers of Literacy, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
The sky—
not merely a stretch of blue,
but a window for the soul
that no longer believes in boundaries.
It is not just space,
but the place where time
sheds its body and vanishes.
Peace—
not among the drifting clouds,
but in the vacant realm beyond,
where no voices dwell,
only the whisper of wind
that knows how the world
was never meant to be understood,
only accepted.
Sky,
you never ask
where we came from,
nor where we are bound.
You gaze with tireless eyes,
witnessing all
without judgment.
In your hands, there is no law—
only movement,
only change.
I look to the sky
not to seek,
but to receive
what has long been cast aside.
Beyond the clouds,
I know—
there is something far greater
than the act of searching.
Peace is not in the lofty sky,
but in its untouched depths.
Peace resides there,
where earth and stars
embrace without questions.
Sky,
you are not merely a canvas
to be gazed upon,
but a realm for souls
wishing to fly—
without bodies,
without burdens.
Among the unseen lines,
we are but points
who’ve forgotten
why we ever existed.
And if we vanish,
let the sky remember.
Let it guard
the stories left unfinished,
for it never ceases
to hold what is invisible,
and to love
what remains unreachable.
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2007
/5/
Peace Is Not a Gift
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu, Indonesian Creators of AI Era, FSM, Lightbearers of Literacy, ACC SHILA]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
If the world must fall apart
from tending too long to its anger,
let this poem
be the final ember
that does not die.
We hold no grudges
between these lines.
We carry seeds—
that one day
may bloom into an embrace,
even when sown
in blood-stained soil.
We know:
peace is not a gift,
but the labor of hearts
willing to understand—
not to conquer.
And if our voices
do not reach the ears of the world,
let the earth deliver them to the roots.
Let the sky etch them
in the light of dawn.
Let the waters hum them
in the quietest ripple.
For we believe:
peace does not always shout.
Sometimes, it grows in silence.
Sometimes, it arrives
as a pair of hands
that simply choose
not to let go.
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2007
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About the Poet and Her Communities:
The poetry collection “THE PEACE AT THE ROOT OF TIME” (Poems No. 1–5) was originally composed bilingually (English–Indonesian) by Leni Marlina in 2007, purely as a personal passion and part of her private archive. In 2025, these poems were revisited, revised, and published digitally for the first time.
Leni Marlina is an active figure in the world of literature and creative writing. Since 2022, she has been a member of the Indonesian Writers Association (SATU PENA, West Sumatra chapter) and is also part of the Indonesian Creative Community in the Age of AI. Her international literary engagement includes membership in the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association, which appointed her as Poetry Ambassador of Indonesia in 2024. She previously collaborated with the Victorian Writers Association in Australia.
Since 2006, Leni Marlina has served as a lecturer in the English Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang, INDONESIA. Beyond her academic and literary pursuits, she is a contributing editor for Suaraanaknegerinews.com and actively writes for various other online platforms focusing on literacy, literature, education, and social empowerment.
Leni is also the founder and chairperson of several social – digital communities devoted to language, literature, literacy education, and social advocacy. These include:
* World Children’s Literature Community (WCLC)
https://shorturl.at/acFv1
* Poetry-Pen International Community (PPIC)
A global platform for poetic expression across cultures
* PPIPM – Indonesia (Pondok Puisi Inspirasi Pemikiran Masyarakat): Poetry Community of Indonesian Society’s Inspiration
https://shorturl.at/2eTSB; https://shorturl.at/tHjRI
* Starcom Indonesia Community (Starmoonsun Edupreneur Community Indonesia)
https://rb.gy/5c1b02
* Linguistic Talk Community
A critical forum for deep exploration of linguistics
* Literature Talk Community
A space for literature lovers and literary discourse
* Translation Practice Community
A hub for bridging languages through translation practice
* English Language Learning, Literacy, and Literary Community (EL4C)
A community committed to advancing English proficiency, literacy, and literary appreciation
