
/1/
Returning Home to Seek Heaven’s Light in Your Eyes
Poem by Leni Marlina
<1>
My steps bleed on thorns of shadowed pasts,
trails of childhood lacerated by memory.
I walk, clutching the morning breeze,
gathering whispers, buried echoes of pain.
That door—I once struck it in rage;
now it stands silent, calling your face, Mother,
etched by time’s cruel hands.
The old chair freezes my tears of yesteryears,
once warmed by your embrace, now cold with scars.
<2>
Droplets fall, one by one, like a rain’s rhythm,
but this is no rain—it is blood from silent wounds,
hot, sharp, burning fragile skin.
Mother, you smile in that fractured mirror,
a smile that shatters blurs into searing clarity.
Your hair, streaked white, weaves sorrow’s nest;
your hands comb through melodies of weariness.
Behind them, you hide tears,
touching your child’s soul with guilt and grace.
<3>
I return, Mother, but it is not my body,
only a shattered soul, carrying the dust of regret,
humming your name through the cracks of time,
touching the ground where you sheltered me once.
Mother, I step into your longing embrace,
but this longing is a blade,
tearing every hollow of my broken spirit.
I return, Mother,
to drown in the heaven’s light of your eyes.
Melbourne Square, Australia, 2013
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*The original title of the poem in Indonesian languange is “Pulang Mencari Cahaya Surga di Matamu”.
/2/
Scorching Footprints
Poem by Leni Marlina
My steps are not a return, but a wound to the earth.
Their blaze leaves ashes of past mistakes.
Once, I slammed the door, shaking walls of longing;
my anger’s voice etched scars into your heart.
Mother, your sweat was an unceasing rain,
pouring prayers beneath silent wounds.
The blood on your hands—was it born of love’s heat
or the sharp edge of endless sacrifice?
Now I return, Mother,
but it is not my body,
only my shadow.
Forgive the coals I pressed upon this home;
let me burn myself to kindle heaven’s light for you.
Burwood, Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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*The original title of the poem in Indonesian languange is “Jejak yang Membakar”.
/3/
A House That Welcomes
Poem by Leni Marlina
I am a house that welcomes,
standing in silence,
its wood creased, cracks forming into poems.
Here, I keep the tears you wiped away,
and the screams of your child that pierced its walls.
These windows once thudded in anger,
the walls once shouted in chorus,
and the old floor absorbed your weeping.
Yet you, Mother, remained the fire that guarded us,
even as time’s winds stole your strength.
Now your child returns,
their steps damp,
not with tears,
but with longing buried deep.
And I, a house that welcomes, near collapse,
stand steadfast as a witness
to the love and grace of a mother unchanged.
Burwood, Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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*The original title of the poem in Indonesian languange is “Rumah yang Ramah”.
/4/
Drops of Time
Poem by Leni Marlina
I am time,
walking across your back, Mother,
each second sowing white threads in your hair.
You let me pass without complaint,
absorbing your sweat like ceaseless rain.
The cracked mirror holds my trail,
its corners etched with wounds you concealed.
Yet you smile within your lullaby,
as if I had never stolen your breath.
Now your child returns, bearing unhealed scars.
But I know,
you will still embrace me,
for I am time, carrying your prayers
to the God of Mercy, to the Almighty Creator.
Clayton, Monash, Australia, 2013
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*The original title of the poem in Indonesian languange is “Tetesan Waktu”.
/5/
Eyes That Speak
Poem by Leni Marlina
I am a mirror,
a witness to those who come and go.
My cracks hold the chronicles of tears unhealed.
Once, I saw Mother comb her white strands with love,
humming soft melodies that echoed through time.
But now, only blurred shadows reflect back,
remnants of a child returning with tear-filled eyes.
I no longer show pride,
only wounds and longing stare back at me.
Mother, your smile envelops my fractures,
even as your child arrives with guilt and dust.
And I, an aging mirror near ruin,
still record the love you never allowed to fade.
Clayton, Monash, Australia, 2013
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*The original title of the poem in Indonesian languange is “Mata yang Berbicara”.
/6/
I Am Coming Home, Mother
Poem by Leni Marlina
I am home, Mother,
but it is not my body
that crosses your doorstep.
Only a soul, torn by longing,
wanders through rooms where my tears once fell.
I see the cracked mirror, where I once saw myself.
Each shard sketches your fading face.
Your hair, Mother, is the white thread sewing wounds,
but these wounds, Mother, are mine—your child who returns.
Your trembling hands still offer a smile,
your embrace a fire burning my guilt.
Now I refuse to walk away again,
for here, in your embrace, heaven awaits.
Clayton, Monash, Australia, 2013
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*The original title of the poem in Indonesian languange is “Aku Pulang, Bu”.
/7/
Returning to My Root
Poem by Leni Marlina
My steps falter, returning to my root,
a small soul seeking blessings in dawn’s grace.
My face now resembles a frozen blade,
striking doors, tearing silence.
There, the old chair watches,
measuring tears, weaving dreams in its lap.
I listen as drops fall, unraveling softly,
voiceless wounds submerged in shadows.
Is this heat born of fire?
Or the silent edge tearing hearts?
A weathered glass cracks in a dim corner,
your reflection combing white strands tenderly.
Once your song was a prayer unending,
now its echo chases the quiet,
a ceiling of longing hanging high.
I pause, my heart bows in sorrow.
Mother, the light I grasp in dimness,
forgive me for the screams that tore your breath.
My return is not just of body,
but a soul melting into your embrace.
At time’s threshold,
I weave your name, sacred,
my place of return,
the root of undying life.
Your face, Mother, a lantern in the valley of solitude.
Now I am here, beside you.
Melbourne Square, Australia, 2013
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*The original title of the poem in Indonesian languange is “Pulang ke Tempat Asal”.
Brief Publication Note
The collection of poems above was originally written by Leni Marlina as a personal hobby and part of her private poetry collection in 2012, during her Master’s program in Writing and Literature in Australia, funded by an Indonesian government scholarship. The poems were later revised and gradually began to be published digitally for the first time in January 2025.
Leni is an active member of the Indonesian Writers Association, SATU PENA (West Sumatra chapter), since its establishment in 2022. She is also an active member of the International Poetry and Literature Community of ACC in Shanghai and serves as Indonesia’s Poetry Ambassador to ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association. Previously, she engaged with Victoria’s Writer Association in Australia. Since 2006, Leni has dedicated herself as a lecturer at the English Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang.
Leni has also founded and leads numerous digital and social communities, focusing on language, literature, literacy, and social initiatives, including:
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)