“The Beauty and Strength of Larat Orchid – Lelemuku from Maluku” (Part 1): The Poetry Collection by Leni Marlina (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Satu Pena, KEAI, Literacy Community, ASM, ACC SHILA)

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Larat Orchid: The Silence That Endures

Poem by Leni Marlina
(INDONESIA)

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

I was never born to be welcomed.
Stones do not yield fields of hope—
Yet from their silence, I rise,
Threading life through wounds no garden claims.
My roots are whispers in barren soil,
Searching for water in thirst’s forgotten grave—
And when they find it,
They do not cry.
They become.

I am no bloom of tempered seasons,
No petal kissed by careful hands.
I am the bride of tempests,
Shaped by silence,
Cherished by time that asks for nothing.
I bloom beyond the eye,
Unfolding not for gaze but for grace—
A light not to be seen,
But to be felt
Where wonder outlasts witness.

If you would love me,
Bring no pity wrapped in petals.
Love is not the tear of onlookers.
It is the hush that holds the roots,
The unseen hand that guards through dusk.
It does not speak—
It listens,
And knows the sacred weight
Of what goes unloved by the world.

I am not a riddle seeking answers,
Nor a scar begging for healing.
I dwell in the hush of forgotten lands
Yet echo like a compass
To the ones who wander through clamor,
Searching for meaning without map.

I am the orchid of Larat—
Born of Maluku’s wind-strewn rocks,
Cradled in the hush of eastern isles.
I am the unsent letter to the sky,
Inscribed not with ink,
But with breath and will—
And I remain,
Though no one tends my name.

Call me Lelemuku.
Call me by the tongue of Tanimbar winds.
This island gave me nothing
But truth—
And that was enough
To bloom.

If I should vanish,
Let no dirge disturb the wind.
Find me in the voice of rain,
In the pulse of pebbles no one praises.
There I shall be—
Beauty that does not beg,
Love that does not bind,
And a peace that walks,
Even when unseen.

Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, January 2025

/2/

Larat Orchid: Beauty Is Not Always Born in Gardens

Poem by Leni Marlina
(INDONESIA)

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

I am not merely a pink or lilac orchid
scattered in the curated gardens of the world.
I am the forgotten dhikr of stone,
inscribed by God in the fractured veins of earth,
conveying a deeper message:
true beauty is not born of the world’s indulgence.

I am no miracle to be worshipped,
but the silence that teaches fortitude,
growing atop wounds so ancient
they no longer moan—
only endure in stillness and strength.
This land does not promise paradise,
yet I bloom in hush and scarce light,
from a heart that knows love is not to conquer
but to lift, gently and without demand.

My name is Lelemuku,
a whisper carried by the winds of far Maluku—
East of the archipelago.
I was planted by destiny,
watered by the tears of women
who, even in loss,
still painted rainbows from the ashes of flame.

Do not pluck me.
Do not frame me in the portrait of your leisure.
I am no ornament for worldly delight,
but a scripture written by the hand of nature—
without ink, without sacred book—
only with dust, light,
and a patience that knows no end.

I am the beauty borne of witness,
of mankind who made love a transaction,
of earth that receives all sighs
yet never once asks,
“Are you weary?”

If you truly love me,
let me remain a whisper
heard only by souls unfazed by praise.
Let me grow within the crevice of stone,
where no applause echoes,
but meaning abounds—
where my presence is not proclaimed,
yet deeply felt.

I need no water
if your mercy is but hollow kindness.
I need no light
if your radiance only seeks to measure.
I am content with the long night,
with the tender drift of enduring winds
that promise nothing—
but remain faithful to what is unseen.

For true love belongs not to the brightest,
but to the deepest—
love that does not measure, does not demand,
love that transcends the pursuit of worldly grace.

And I,
Larat Orchid, Lelemuku of Maluku,
was not born to be adored for shape or hue,
but to be a question that blooms unceasing—
a question for those
who forget too easily:
that humanity needs no stage,
but only earth on which to stand in mindful steps,
and sky to release the soul
untethered,
unbounded.

Padang, West Sumatra – January 2025
——–‐—————————–

About the Author and Her Works

The poetry collection above was composed by Leni Marlina in 2025 and had not been published on any platform prior to its inaugural digital release through the national literary portal suaraanaknegerinews.com that same year.

Leni Marlina is a writer, poet, and academic from West Sumatra, Indonesia. She has been an active member of the Indonesian Writers Association (SATU PENA), West Sumatra Chapter, since its inception in 2022. Internationally, she is affiliated with the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association, where she has been appointed as the Indonesian Poetry Ambassador. Her global literary engagement includes a formative involvement with the Victoria’s Writer Association in Australia.

Since 2006, Leni has served as a permanent lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Languages and Arts, at Universitas Negeri Padang (UNP). Beyond the academic sphere, she is part of the editorial board at suaraanaknegerinews.com and contributes regularly to various national online media and digital literary communities.

Her publicly available poems can be accessed at:
https://suaraanaknegerinews.com/category/puisi-leni-marlina-bagi-anak-bangsa/page/3/

In addition to her writing, Leni Marlina is the founder and leader of several digital communities that center on language, literature, literacy, and social engagement. These include:

1. World Children’s Literature Community (WCLC): https://shorturl.at/acFv1
My
2. Poetry-Pen International Community (PPIC)

3. PPIPM-Indonesia (Poetry Community of Indonesian Society’s Inspirations):
a. https://shorturl.at/2eTSB;
b. https://shorturl.at/tHjR

4. Starcom Indonesia Community (Starmoonsun Edupreneur Community Indonesia):
https://rb.gy/5c1b02
5. Linguistic Talk Community (Ling-TC)
6. Literature Talk Community (Littalk-C)
7. Translation Practice Community (Trans-PC)
8. English Language Learning, Literacy, Literary Community (EL4C)

Through her poetry and leadership in community initiatives, Leni Marlina continues to infuse new energy into Indonesia’s literary and educational landscape. Her work bridges cultural and generational dialogues, offering a profound poetic vision in response to the challenges and transformations of the digital age.

The readers may accessed the Indonesian version of the poems above via the official digital paltform link below: https://suaraanaknegerinews.com/keindahan-dan-kekuatan-anggrek-larat-lelemuku-dari-maluku-puisi-ke-1-kumpulan-puisi-leni-marlina-ppipm-indonesia-poetry-pen-ic-satu-pena-sumbar-keai-sumbar-penyala-literasi-sumbar-asm/