“The Weeping Earth and the One That Sowed Love”: A Poetry Collection by Leni Marlina (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA)
Illustration of "The Weeping Earth and the One That Sowed Love": A Poetry Collection by Leni Marlina (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA). Image Source: Starcom Indonesia's Artworks No. 925-71 (Assisted by AI)
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The Earth That Sowed Love
A Poem by Leni Marlina
I am the earth,
once sowing love,
in every pulse of soil,
every river’s flowing breath.
But you, O humans,
why have your gentle hands
become tools of harm?
You pierce my veins,
strip my skin,
leaving my name
to fade from your heart.
The forest weeps in silence,
its leaves falling like voiceless tears.
Mountains that once stood firm,
now crumble away,
like dreams consumed by your flames.
And my seas,
once cradling the sun’s reflection,
now lie cloaked in shadows,
buried beneath your towering waste.
Yet still, I pray—not for myself—
but for you, O humans.
I pray your hands may soften,
your heart may learn to hear.
For if I falter,
you will scatter—
mere fragments adrift,
lost in the winds of your own making.
Melbourne, Australia, 2012
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The Sea Once a Mirror to Heaven
A Poem by Leni Marlina
Where is the blue
that once mirrored the skies?
Now my waters lie dim,
a grave for dreams drowned.
Plastic tangles and toxins seep—
serpents coiling without mercy,
squeezing the breath from my depths.
Once, I was heaven’s mirror;
now, a shadow of despair,
bearing hell on my tides.
My fish drift lifeless to the shore,
the gulls stand silent,
watching your march of progress.
O humans,
I embraced you with waves of love,
yet you repaid me with poison,
slowly tearing me apart.
Is this my story’s end?
Or will you return,
to rediscover the miracles
you’ve abandoned?
I am only the sea—
my voice no louder than the tides—
but my currents cry out,
pleading for the life you leave behind.
Melbourne, Australia, 2012
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The Forest That Keeps Secrets
A Poem by Leni Marlina
I am the forest,
a sanctuary of silence,
where heaven whispers to the earth.
My trees rise like prayers,
holding birds in their arms,
sheltering your weary steps.
But now, I am wounded,
my roots kiss the soil one last time,
as uninvited flames devour me whole.
You called me the lungs of the earth,
but you drained my breath to ash.
You fed my body to your factories,
turned my leaves into numbers.
And I ask you,
am I still sacred to you?
Once, I was your refuge,
but now I stand nameless.
O humans,
if you keep unraveling my being,
who will shade you
when the sun burns your destiny?
My life feeds yours;
when I perish,
you will fall beside me,
into the grave
your hands have carved.
Melbourne, Australia, 2012
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When Earth Speaks
A Poem by Leni Marlina
O humans,
you tread upon my bones,
your ambition weighing down
the fragile span of my shoulders.
I am stone,
my cracks a silent language
you refuse to hear.
Still, I speak.
Streams, once pure, now groan.
Air, once tender, now suffocates.
I, the earth you stand upon,
slowly crumble
beneath the weight of your grasp.
What do you chase, O humans,
when my green fades to gray,
when my soil turns to ash?
What will remain of you
but a shadow,
etched in the splintered glass
of this fractured world?
Melbourne, Australia, 2012
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The Earth Grows Weary
A Poem by Leni Marlina
I am the stone beneath the ocean’s depths,
watching silently
as you forsake me.
My body sinks beneath plastic tides,
my breath stolen
by your so-called progress.
This earth is my body,
and every theft from my chest
is a theft of your own tomorrow.
The forests you fell are your lungs,
the rivers you poison, your lifeblood.
I hear your prayers,
empty whispers carried on the wind,
while you dig your grave ever deeper.
O humans, this earth is tired,
and when it stops spinning,
you will not stand.
Melbourne, Australia, 2012
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The Forgotten Earth
A Poem by Leni Marlina
I am the stone beneath your feet,
a remnant of the paradise
you once sang of.
I am a silent witness,
watching each tree fall,
each river turn gray.
O humans,
you carve gold from my heart,
scar my surface,
and stand proud atop my ruins.
But what is your triumph worth,
when your earth no longer cradles you?
I am but a small stone,
ignored in your pursuit of grandeur.
But remember this:
earth’s gifts are not eternal.
When I shatter completely,
you will realize too late
that you have lost
all you once had.
Melbourne, Australia, 2012
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The Weeping Earth
A Poem by Leni Marlina
I am the stone,
the guardian of a wounded earth.
Every corner of my being bears
the weight of your heavy steps,
the poison you sow
with your own hands.
This earth weeps,
not in tears,
but in silent cracks that spread,
in winds that groan unseen,
in whispers of leaves
you’ve mercilessly cut down.
O humans,
you praise me at dawn,
then forget me by dusk.
This earth is a mother you wound,
yet she gives until her last breath.
But mark my words:
when the earth falls silent,
so too will you cease to breathe.
Melbourne, Australia, 2012
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Brief Information
The original title of the poetry collection in Indonesian language is “Bumi yang Menangis dan Menanamkan Cinta”, available online on:
This poetry collection was initially written bilingual (English & Indonesian) by Leni Marlina as a personal hobby and collection in 2012, during her Master of Writing and Literature program in Australia financed Indonesian government scholarship. The poems were later revised and began to be published digitally on Indonesian online media in 2025.
Leni Marlina is the founder and head of PPIPM (Pondok Puisi Inspirasi Masyarakat: Poetry Community of Indonesian Society’s Inspirations) and Poetry-Pen International Community.
She is an active member of Indonesian Writers Association, SATU PENA-West Sumatra and Indonesian Creators Commuity of AI Era. Additionally, she is a member of the international poets and writers community ACC SHILA (Shanghai), serving as Indonesia’s Poetry Ambassador for ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association. Leni also participated in Victoria’s Writers Association in Australia.
Since 2006, she has been a lecturer in the English Language and Literature Study Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang.
Leni has established and led several digital-based communities focused on language, literature, education, and social causes, 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)
