"THE TEACHERS WHO TAUGHT THE MEANING OF BEING INDEPENDENT": Poetry Collection by Leni Marlina (UNP Padang, PPIPM–Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, PLS, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM–Indonesia)

/1/

IN THE CLASSROOM

Poem by Leni Marlina

[UNP Padang, PPIPM–Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, PLS, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM–Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

In your hand,
chalk rests—
frail as the hollow bone
of a bird carved from winter’s breath.

Across the blackboard
your touch unravels a hush:
the first shy rainfall
finding the lips of a rusted tin roof.

What you write are not letters—
they are wooden doors,
half-open to gardens
that bloom only in the mind.

Your numbers are not numbers—
they are bridges,
arching over rivers
drunk with the gold of evening light.

The chalk dust falls,
slow as forgotten snow,
gathering on the leather of our shoes.
I imagine it
as the ashes of a far-off star,
bursting at the rim of the sky,
its silver breath drifting down
to root itself in the soil of our future.

O teachers,
planter of light,
accept my bowed silence,
my thanks for the rain of words
you never let cease.
May the heavens
forever part their gates
and let blessings spill at your feet.

/2/

RED AND WHITE

Poem by Leni Marlina

[UNP Padang, PPIPM–Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, PLS, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM–Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Red—
like embers sparking within a soldier’s chest,
eyes still burning as he faces the rain.

White—
like the bones of frost,
its chill piercing the skin,
yet unbroken under the blazing sun.

The flag flutters in the schoolyard,
and I see it as a giant lung,
breathing in unison
the lives of millions.
The rustle of fabric
sounds like the sigh of a nation
longing to live for countless years more.

O, teachers,
salute to the keeper of embers and frost;
thank you for the breath of freedom you’ve blown into us.
May this homeland always remember your steps.

Baso, Agam, Indonesia, 2000
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025

/3/

CHOOSING TO BE THE ROOT

Poem by Leni Marlina

[UNP Padang, PPIPM–Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, PLS, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM–Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

You chose to be the root—
dark veins weaving between stones,
embracing the earth with a heavy silence,
your grief, your fatigue seeping deep into the mud.

The roots write the letters of freedom
with ink of falling rain, slowly soaking in,
whispering to the trunk:
“Rise, touch the light, I will hold you steady.”

In the sodden earth,
your sap flows like sentences
that grow honesty,
awaiting the tender shoot
to carry its story into the air.

O, teachers,
the highest honor to the silent support
whose strength never demands the spotlight;
thank you for a power that asks for nothing.
May earth and sky bear witness to you.

Baso, Agam, Indonesia, 2000
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025

/4/

THE GRIEF AND PAIN YOU FEEL

Poem by Leni Marlina

[UNP Padang, PPIPM–Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, PLS, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM–Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆a

You lead us into a damp cave,
smelling of wet earth,
a cave that reflects our steps
like echoes from our own hearts.

Grief and pain,
your weariness hanging on the cave walls,
like torches burning in darkness,
illuminating our faces as we confront truth.

“Freedom,” you said,
“first begins with liberation
from sweet lies
and bitter fears.”

Within that stone chamber,
we learn to disarm the shadows of ourselves—
and hear our voices
clearer than ever before.

O, teachers,
a grand salute to the bearer of light in the cave of souls;
thank you for the courage
to guide us against our shadows.
May that light become a garden of peace for you.

Baso, Agam, Indonesia, 2000
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025

/5/

THE CARTOGRAPHER OF HEARTS

Poem by Leni Marlina

[UNP Padang, PPIPM–Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, PLS, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM–Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆a

You unfold a map—
not of continents,
but a maze of winding lines
like rivers tracing the palms of our hands.

No ocean blue or forest green—
only sand, easily erased by waves.
No iron fences or watchtowers—
just wooden gates opening
to fields of flowers.

Passports in this land are words of love,
their fragrance like jasmine freshly bloomed.
Visas are ears willing to listen
to the deepest silences of a human heart.

O, teachers,
our highest reverence
to the true cartographer of hearts;
thank you for opening paths
without asking for reward.
May that love become your eternal home.

Baso, Agam, Indonesia, 2000
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025

/6/

THE STUDENTS’ PROMISE TO THE TEACHERS

Poem by Leni Marlina

[UNP Padang, PPIPM–Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, PLS, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM–Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

The sky stretches like a giant batik cloth
over our heads.
The red-and-white flag flutters,
its colors piercing the eyes
with light that cannot be bargained.

O teachers,
you have taught us knowledge and truth,
and so we vow:

We will not let words
be buried in the prisons of hatred.
We will not let peace
be traded in noisy markets.
We will not let humanity
be auctioned for comfort.

Our voices and promises
echo over rice fields, across mountains,
and return to our teacher’s heart
like letters that find their rightful address.

O teachers,
all honor to the witness of promises we keep;
thank you for igniting the fire in our chests.
May this promise become a river
that flows endlessly for you.

Baso, Agam, Indonesia, 2000
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025

/7/

YOUR NAME AND SERVICE ON THE STELE OF TIME

Poem by Leni Marlina

[UNP Padang, PPIPM–Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, PLS, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM–Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

This land stands upon foundations seldom seen:
the blackened chalkboard,
chalk vanishing into the morning mist,
prayers tucked between sorrow
and the weary toil of your struggle.

O teachers,
you are the first letters we ever knew,
a book whose knowledge never ends,
a lighthouse whose light pierces the fog of history
yet never demands its name appear on any map.

Without you, our ship would sail aimlessly,
and sink into the sea of oblivion.

All honor to you, our teachers—
the light in the nation’s lighthouse;
thank you for every direction you showed.
May your name be etched in the stone of time,
and read by angels in the heavens
when history closes its final book.

Baso, Agam, Indonesia, 2000
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025

/8/

THE TEACHERS WHO TAUGHT THE MEANING OF FREEDOM

Poem by Leni Marlina

[UNP Padang, PPIPM–Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, PLS, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM–Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

You are the first rain
upon a parched, cracked earth—
stirring timid sprouts
from hearts on the verge of surrender.

Chalk in your hand
is the very bone of time,
etching fractures in the prison walls of our souls,
letting shards of light slip through.

Your words—
bitter as tonic herbs, sweet as the ripest fruit—
heal the illness of fear that courses through our veins.

Freedom, you say,
is red as blood, white as bone, blue as the sky—
three colors bound to coexist
within the chest of humankind.

You are the invisible root,
scribbling secret letters in the dark soil
so forests may rise unbroken.

You are the map
sketched with rivers upon the palm,
guiding us back to the sanctuary
of our own humanity.

O teachers,
tireless lighthouse,
guardian of embers through storm,
custodian of dew in drought—

Your name will echo
between earth and sky,
whispered by the wind, sung by rivers,
read aloud by angels
when history folds its final page.

Baso, Agam, Indonesia, 2000
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025

/9/

FINDING THE WAY HOME TO THE TEACHER

Poem by Leni Marlina

[UNP Padang, PPIPM–Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, PLS, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM–Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

O … our teachers,
Dawn rests upon your cheek—
a small sun mending the day’s torn fabric
with golden thread hidden in your tired smile.
Chalk dust drifts—white-winged angels in the air,
sowing petals of letters
into the gardens of our souls.

O … our teachers,
You planted suns in our hearts
while your own purse clung to a thinning dusk.
They call you a hero without a medal,
yet on your payslip
even the medal’s ghost
could not clothe your children for the new year.

O … our teachers,
Saplings rose beneath your shade,
drinking the dew of your gentle words,
listening to the wind of longing
pass through the narrow door of your prayers.
In the classroom, you spoke of freedom;
beyond its walls,
the tides of prices devoured your moments of rest.

O … our teachers,
Chalk snow fell upon your hair
like the everlasting frost of Mount Jayawijaya’s crown in Irian Jaya .
The letters you gave us opened windows in our minds,
letting in the light
and the birds of wisdom,
while the windows of your own house
splintered against unkind seasons.

O … our teachers,
The map in your palm
draws no borders between nations—
only lines of light that lead to the human heart.
You are the lighthouse
on the shore of ignorance,
setting a fire of love in the heart of the storm,
though the oil is paid
with the change from a cup of coffee.

O … our teachers,
The soil of this schoolyard
knows your steps more faithfully
than the floor of your own home.
The prayers you buried in our hearts
grew into trees that shelter the earth,
their roots piercing the heavens
in search of God’s rain.

O … our teachers,
One day—
no one knows when,
no one knows where—
we will return.
We will be the roof above your home,
the fence that holds back the wind,
the star that lights your lamp,
the vessel that keeps your lighthouse burning,
the rain that finds its way back to the clouds,
and the wind that carries the scent
of the garden of light
you once planted in our hearts.

O … our teachers,
Perhaps you will no longer know our names,
but the sun you planted in us
will always find its way home to you—
even if it must cross
a thousand seasons
and ten thousand nights.

Baso, Agam, Indonesia, 2000
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025

——————————
About the Author: Leni Marlina

Leni Marlina is a writer, poet, and academic born in Baso, Agam—West Sumatra, and currently resides in Padang, Indonesia. She grew up embraced by words, holding a deep belief that literature serves as a bridge of goodwill connecting human hearts across boundaries. Since an early age, she has actively engaged in literary and literacy movements—both within academic institutions and across broader community networks.

Since 2022, Leni has been an active member of the SATU PENA (Indonesian Writers Association), West Sumatra chapter, under the leadership of Sastri Bakry and Armaidi Tanjung. Within this community, she has grown and shared insights with fellow writers across generations.

In May 2025, Leni was honored as Writer of the Year by SATU PENA West Sumatra during the Gala Dinner of the 3rd International Minangkabau Literacy Festival (IMLF-3). She received the award with heartfelt gratitude, viewing it as a collective recognition of the spirit of cooperation in nurturing a reading and writing culture throughout the nation.

Leni’s international literary journey expanded when she joined the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association (ACC SHILA), led by globally renowned poet Anna Keiko. Since 2024, she has served as the Indonesian Poetry Ambassador to ACC SHILA, and in 2025, she was appointed as Chair of the Asian Delegation of Poetry Ambassadors—a significant role in cultivating cultural diplomacy through poetry.

That same year, she also joined the World Poetry Movement (WPM) Indonesia, coordinated by Sastri Bakry, as part of the global poetry movement headquartered in Colombia.

Leni’s engagement with international literature began during her postgraduate studies in Writing and Literature at Victoria University, Australia (2011–2013). During this time, she was active in local writing communities in Victoria and enriched her perspectives through intercultural literary dialogue.

On May 31, 2025, alongside her literary communities and in collaboration with Achmad Yusuf (event chair), Leni co-organized the Poetry BLaD (Book Launch and Poetry Discussion) and the IOSoP (International Online Seminar on Poetry). These events were commissioned by Media Suara Anak Negeri News (led by Paulus Laratmase) and hosted in partnership with the Department of English, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang. Together, they fostered a vibrant space for promoting literacy, peace, and humanity through poetry.

Since 2006, Leni has served as a lecturer in English Literature at the Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang, where she has mentored students in language, literature, and creative writing. She believes that both education and literary work are essential forms of service to society.

Beyond academia, Leni contributes as a freelance journalist, editor, and digital contributor. Her literary works are widely accessible online, including through:

https://suaraanaknegerinews.com/category/puisi-leni-marlina-bagi-anak-bangsa

Leni is also the founder and mentor of various digital-based literary and social communities, including:

1. World Children’s Literature Community (WCLC)
https://shorturl.at/acFv1

2. Poetry-Pen International Community (PPIC)

3. PPIPM Indonesia (Pondok Puisi Inspirasi Pemikiran Masyarakat): Poetry Community for Inspirations of Indonesian Society.
https://shorturl.at/2eTSB
https://shorturl.at/tHjRI

4. Starcom Indonesia (Starmoonsun Edupreneur Community)
https://rb.gy/5c1b02

5. Linguistic Talk Community (Ling-TC): a digital platform for discussions in linguistics and applied language studies.

6. Literature Talk Community (Littalk-C): a forum for literary exploration across genres and eras.

7. Translation Practice Community (Trans-PC): a practice-based forum for literary and academic translation.

8. English Language Learning, Literacy, and Literary Community (EL4C): a community dedicated to English learning and literary appreciation.