/1/
The Earth Waiting for Humans’ Love
By Leni Marlina
This earth,
is a mother who never tires of waiting
for the return of her lost children.
She feels every step,
each one leaving scars,
yet she embraces us in her silence.
We often forget,
the earth doesn’t seek praise
or grand offerings.
She only longs for simple love:
hands that plant, not cut down;
hearts that give, not take.
This earth,
breathes in the whispers of the wind,
speaks through the drizzle on leaves.
But we are too busy chasing false dreams
to hear how gently she speaks.
Now, we vow,
never to forget the love she gives.
Earth, you are the poem that never ends,
and we wish to be the verse you read with joy.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2020
/2/
The Wounds of Mother Earth’s Face
By Leni Marlina
In your eyes, Mother,
a map of life is woven from the sweat of ancestors,
fields turned into cracked carpets,
fallen leaves carrying silent messages:
“Embrace me before the wind steals it all.”
We carve footprints into your chest,
unaware of the widening cracks.
Your weariness is a whisper we ignore,
yet you stand tall,
like a mountain hiding its tears
behind the grey clouds.
Mother,
our promises may waver,
but let this hand learn
to replant what we’ve destroyed.
Let this step find
the path back to your embrace.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2020
/3/
The Shattered Mirror of the Sky
By Leni Marlina
The sky cracks,
lines of wounds stretching to the horizon,
like veins of wrath
that rise from our betrayals.
Birds stop singing,
hanging their wings on old branches,
avoiding the choking smoke that suffocates the air.
The sky is a mirror,
a place where we gaze upon our sins.
But the mirror shatters,
shattering into shards that pierce
the eyes of a soul that’s beginning to go blind.
We once promised you, our blue,
but that promise drowned beneath the pollution.
Now, we have only shards of prayer
to weave back your blue,
so the sky can once again breathe
for the world we’ve neglected.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2020
/4
In the Stream that Never Sleeps
By Leni Marlina
This river,
is a traveler who knows no rest,
carrying memories to the deep sea.
It carries the scent of the past,
and the shadow of small feet
that once played on peaceful shores.
Now, its body is murky,
full of unheard cries,
like the weeping roots
that have lost their grip.
We gaze without feeling,
unaware that the water
is the pulse of the earth we’ve betrayed.
River,
let our hands grasp your currents,
wash away the poison we’ve spilled,
so downstream, our children may see
the reflection of a face full of hope.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2020
/5/
The Prayer of Buried Roots
By Leni Marlina
In the darkness,
the forest is a silent prayer
that holds the story of the wind
behind the slowly falling leaves.
We come with fire,
burning away the shade that once protected our souls.
The trunks stand tall,
yet in their silence,
they mourn the earth
that’s beginning to lose its footing.
The forest speaks to the stars,
asking:
“Will I become a forgotten memory
lost in dust?”
We do not hear,
but now we learn from the silence that grips us.
Forest, allow this hand to plant again
the roots of prayer you’ve sown since ancient times.
Allow us to restore your song,
the one we once silenced.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2020
/6/
Longing for the Vanished Clouds
By Leni Marlina
The clouds are gentle travelers,
leaving shadows
on the earth that longs for shade.
We see you pass,
carrying hopes
that slowly become fading dreams.
Now, the sky feels empty,
like a soul that has lost its home.
The clouds have gone,
leaving behind promises of rain
that never arrived.
We ask the wind:
“Where do you stay, O clouds?”
But you are silent,
letting us regret our greed.
Clouds, if you return,
let me write prayers on your body,
so that rain may fall
to wash the wounds we’ve left.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2020
/7/
The Earth That Whispers Wounds
By Leni Marlina
This earth,
is the place where rain falls and freezes,
holding the whispers of roots that never sleep.
She says,
“Stop wounding me, I am weary of bearing the stones
you plant without prayer.”
We stand upon her,
bearing promises that may never be fulfilled.
The earth does not need our loud voices,
only the gentle touch
of hands that do not plant thorns.
The earth speaks in silence,
bringing life to the grass,
letting go of leaves,
and teaching us:
life is a wound that heals slowly.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2020
/8/
The Sky, the Silent Guardian
By Leni Marlina
The sky,
the guardian of dreams that flows between shadows.
You gaze at us in silence,
offering a boundless space
so we may learn to endure without judgment.
We carve promises into your body:
we will not blame the clouds
when the rain washes away our hopes.
We will stand,
even when thunder scares our steps,
and storms tear apart our direction.
Sky,
you are not just a roof for the earth,
you are a mirror for the soul, teaching us
that steadfastness does not need to shout,
it is simply the silence that cannot be shaken.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2020
/9/
The River That Flows with Promises
By Leni Marlina
River,
you are a mother who flows with stories
from the source to the mouth, never forgetting
to carry a message:
“Treat me as you treat yourself.”
We see you,
a thread of water that never breaks,
connecting the memories of our ancestors
with the dreams of our children.
Yet, we often forget,
that you too can cry
when your body fills with poison
that we spill without hesitation.
Now, by your banks,
we vow to protect you,
so you may continue to sing
and not fall silent in sorrow.
River,
you are the hope that must never die.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2020
/10/
A Promise to Mother Earth
By Leni Marlina
Friend,
do you remember the promise we spoke,
beneath the old tree that stood as witness?
This land is the mother who has nourished us,
its water flows in our veins, its air fills our lungs.
We swear to guard its breath,
as we guard our very souls.
Friend,
do not let that promise be buried in the crust of greed.
Do not let the roots that embrace the earth
be torn out by our own hands.
Mother Earth is not just the ground we tread,
she is the life that gives us breath,
a place to return when the world’s shaking tires us.
Friend,
look at the forest that once whispered softly,
now silent, losing its ancient language.
The river that once sang of life,
now murky, carrying tears of sorrow.
We are her children,
and every betrayal of our promise
is a wound we carve into her body.
Friend,
love for Mother Earth is not mere words,
it is the action that plants hope.
Let us hold her hand once more,
replant the trees of prayer,
wash her soil with our devotion.
Our promise is the pulse of her life,
and this love is greater than the fleeting ego.
Friend,
do not betray the mother who faithfully gives,
for the earth is a home that never abandons us,
even though we often neglect it.
In her embrace, there is the future of our children,
and in her heart, there is a prayer that never ceases,
that we may love her again
as we love life itself.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2020
———-
Short Biography
This collection of poems, initially crafted by Leni Marlina in 2020 as a personal hobby and archive of her soul’s whispers, has since undergone revision and found its way into the world, shared digitally for the first time in January 2025.
Leni, a committed member of the Indonesian Writers’ Association (SATU PENA) for the Sumatra Barat chapter since its inception in 2022, is also an active participant in the Creative Writers of Indonesia Era AI Community. Her literary contributions have extended to the international stage as a member of the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association, where she proudly serves as the Indonesian Poetry Ambassador. She was previously involved in the Victoria Writer’s Association in Australia.
Since 2006, Leni has devoted herself to academia as a lecturer at the English Language and Literature Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang.
As the founder and head of various digital communities centered on social, language, literature, and literacy, Leni has established:
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)
