“THERE’S STILL A WAY HOME”: Poems Anthology by Leni Marlina (UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, Satu Pena, KEAI, ACC SHILA, Literacy Community, ASM, WPM-Indonesia)
/1/
THERE’S STILL A WAY HOME
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, Literacy Community, ASM, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
There are wounds no thread can mend
but the needle of honest light.
There are souls that cannot return
until fitrah calls—
from the deepest hush within the flesh.
We do not come with hammers,
nor torches of judgment—
only a lantern,
lit by the whitest love,
born from the womb of a conscience
that never dies.
We speak through the blood of poetry,
sensing the faltering pulse
in those who misread the sky
and mistook their wounds for home.
But we believe:
the road remains,
the light endures—
enough to guide back
those who wandered
not from hatred of God—
but from forgetting
how to hear God the Almighty.
Victoria, Australia 2012
Revised in Padang,
West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
/2/
IT WAS NOT THE WORLD THAT ABONDONED US
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, Literacy Community, ASM, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
We were once mist
forgetting our own hue—
adrift between heartbeats
too faint to be called alive.
The moon fractured in the sky of our chest,
and God—
God felt like an echo
fading into the ache of distance.
Our nights were not mere darkness,
but corridors where prayers once lingered.
Mirrors stared back
with faces not our own,
and our names stung
like reopened wounds.
Then, from the rubble,
a whisper came—
not a command,
not wrath—
but the hush of a mother’s breath
brushing sorrow from her children’s brow.
And so we knew:
It was never the world
that cast us away.
It was us—
folding ourselves away from the light,
ashamed, trembling,
and calling it: freedom.
Victoria, Australia 2012
Revised in Padang,
West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
/3/
WE WERE ONCE WOUNDS THAT SPOKE NO NAMES
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, Literacy Community, ASM, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
We were once wounds
that spoke no names—
cradled by night,
kissed by the hush of sorrow.
Cities of silence measured our steps
with the eyes of those
too proud to admit
they once wept like us.
Then you came—
bearing no trumpet,
but a flame
born from the hush of inner light.
Not to judge,
but to greet the soul
wavering between desire
and despair.
Our bodies: battlegrounds
echoing ancient wars.
But in your eyes,
we saw a garden blooming—
with petals of prayer
and the dew of gentleness.
The world spat flames
through its sharpened tongue—
you replied with water,
with silence,
with a hand held open.
And now we know:
Fitrah was never dead—
just buried
beneath the dust of trembling times.
And in the warmth of that light,
we remember:
we are children of light—
and all light returns
to its source.
Victoria, Australia 2012
Revised in Padang,
West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
/4/
THE NIGHT WE CALLED HOME WAS NEVER OURS
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, Literacy Community, ASM, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
We once held the night
like a friend—
thought it was home,
when it was only smoke.
The dark promised
a velvet embrace—
but it was hunger,
disguised as love.
In the tremble of voices
at the edge of collapse,
we heard a call—
not a shout,
but a breath,
soft as prayer.
We were never shame.
You were never judge.
We were seekers,
together
asking what the earth dared not whisper.
Fitrah does not punish.
It waits.
You did not come
to remake us—
you came
to remind us
who we were
before the world
rearranged our names.
With metaphors of sky and soil,
you showed us that love
need not ache—
that to come home
is not a failure,
and that God’s arms
never bruise.
We returned,
not dragged—
but guided
by light
we finally
chose to see.
Victoria, Australia 2012
Revised in Padang,
West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
/5/
LET THIS BE THE SONG OF OUR RETURN
Poem by: Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, Literacy Community, ASM, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
We emerged from ruins—
like broken cities,
crumbling inside memory.
Our souls sliced open
by the sword of identity,
searching for love
in shattered mirrors.
But you arrived—
not with fire,
not with a gavel—
only a flicker of light
and a voice saying,
“Come home
to who you were.”
In your eyes,
we saw the valley of fitrah—
untouched by anger,
unclouded by disdain.
It waited
like a mother waits
for the children
who forgot their mothers’ scent.
We ran barefoot
through thorns named trauma,
through winds called shame—
not escaping,
but returning
with light
as compass.
We rewrite our names—
not in regret,
but in hope—
not as sinners,
but as those
who chose
to come back.
And these verses—
they are not sorrow,
but the anthem
of those
who remember
the way.
Victoria, Australia 2012
Revised in Padang,
West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
/6/
AFTER THE STORM, WE REMEMBERED WHO WE WERE
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, Literacy Community, ASM, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
After all the storms—
We realized
We never truly left.
Our fitrah
was never gone—
just cloaked in dust,
crying quietly
beneath our ribs.
In the lantern you held,
We saw the sky
gather itself—
not spotless,
but filled with
a forgiving light.
God did not strike.
God whispered—
from the root of our yearning.
God lit a candle
inside our soul
and waited
for us
to believe again.
We no longer ask
if we were worthy.
We have seen
the arms
that do not close—
and in them,
our name
rewrites itself
in script
made of light.
Victoria, Australia 2012
Revised in Padang,
West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
/7/
AND IF YOU FIND TOUR WAY HOME
Poem by Leni Marlina
[UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, Satu Pena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, Literacy Community, ASM, WPM-Indonesia]
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
If these verses reach you—
not through ears,
but through the fractures
you haven’t dared to name—
then, dear soul,
you are already being saved.
We do not write
to wound.
We write
to open the windows
long sealed
by pain.
We do not ask
the world to kneel—
only the heart
to remember
its first light.
Fitrah is not our foe—
it is our first skin,
the children’s cry
before the world
called it sin.
And if we return—
the stars will pause,
the winds will hush,
and heaven will bow.
For the most sacred
are not those
who never fall—
but those
who rise,
with all their tears,
and come home
to God.
Victoria, Australia 2012
Revised in 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.
