“VOICES THAT CANNOT BE ERASED”: The Special Poetry Collection by Leni Marlina (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, Indonesian Literacy Community, ACC SHILA)
/1/
VOICES THAT CANNOT BE ERASED
A Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, Indonesian Literacy Community, ACC SHILA]
★★★★★★★★★★★★★
They believed the voice had died,
but it was only hiding in the wind’s breath,
slipping into the sea’s crevices,
becoming the very breath that stirs the waves.
They tried to break our hands,
but we folded into roots,
crawling beneath the earth,
waiting to burst through the ground.
They thought resistance had faded,
but we were merely learning from the embers,
rekindling beneath the ashes,
waiting to burn the false histories.
We shout,
We whisper,
We cannot be erased.
We are the darkness creeping through every day.
We are the shadows that haunt their dreams.
Canberra, Australia, 2012
/2/
A WOMB THAT MISCARRIES STONES
A Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, Indonesian Literacy Community, ACC SHILA]
★★★★★★★★★★★★★
We birthed a nation from our bones,
yet now they wish to plant stones in our wombs.
We nurtured this land with our blood,
yet they seek to trade the sea for steel.
Look at the boats we once built—
now nothing but debris in silent bays.
Look at the rivers we once embraced—
now mute currents, poisoned by hardened promises.
They think we will remain silent,
but we are the earth’s belly,
which knows how to miscarry stones.
We are the waves that break against cliffs.
We are voices that never truly drown.
Canberra, Australia, 2012
/3/
REFUSING TO BECOME A STATUE
A Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, Indonesian Literacy Community, ACC SHILA]
★★★★★★★★★★★★★
They carved us from the coldest stone,
turning us into ornaments that need not speak.
Draped us in silks and golden robes,
forcing us to smile for their rulers.
On ceremonial stages,
we are paraded as symbols,
while their hands grip the hammer
that secretly shatters our bones.
But we are not statues!
We are the earth,
ready to erupt at any moment.
We are history,
waiting to ignite the flames.
We are bodies that refuse to become stone.
Canberra, Australia, 2012
/4/
A DAY IN THE FORGOTTEN SEA
A Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, Indonesian Literacy Community, ACC SHILA]
★★★★★★★★★★★★★
This morning, the sea came to me like a mother,
whispering through the foam:
“Guard me, my child. They wish to silence me.”
I pick up a dead fish by the shore—
its scales glistening, its eyes hollow,
its words once swam within it but have now drowned.
Nets drift empty,
boats stand still like heads with no necks.
In the distance, machines devour the waves,
teeth sinking into the body of an old mother.
But I am not a child who forgets.
I will remember your name, O sea,
as I remember the mother who bore me,
as I remember the land that will cradle me,
as I remember the promise that must never drown.
Canberra, Australia, 2012
/5/
LEAPING FROM THE SHADOWS
A Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, Indonesian Literacy Community, ACC SHILA]
★★★★★★★★★★★★★
They said: women must learn to bow,
so we became shadows behind men.
They said: women must learn to be silent,
so we whispered in the storm.
But shadows can leap forward.
Whispers can transform into waves that shatter cliffs.
They want us as dancers at feasts,
but we are voices that shake the stage.
They want us as mothers with no power,
but we are mothers of a generation that will not be conquered.
Canberra, Australia, 2012
/6/
WOMAN WHO BIRTHS THE SKY
A Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, Indonesian Literacy Community, ACC SHILA]
★★★★★★★★★★★★
They say women are born from the earth.
But I have seen a woman who births the sky.
She tears the night from her womb,
spilling stars into the sea,
letting the moon grow from her bones.
She was once called Ocean,
but they caged her hands with iron fences.
She was once called Rain,
but her body dried under factories and great ships.
She was once called Light,
but voices erased her into shadows.
But how do you cage the sky?
How do you erase rain from her body?
How do you silence a woman who rewrote her name
on the final pages of history?
Do not think she is gone.
She is merely waiting for the next night
to birth the world from the ruins.
Canberra, Australia, 2012
———————————-
This collection of poems entitled “VOICES THAT CANNOT BE ERASED” (No.1 – 14) above was originally written bilingually (English-Indonesia) by Leni Marlina as a personal hobby and private collection in 2012, during the midle year of her study: Master of Writing and Literature Program (Literary Studies, Creative Writing & Children’s Literature) in Australia, funded by an Indonesian government scholarship. The poems were later revisited, revised and published digitally for the first time in 2025.
Leni Marlina is a celebrated Indonesian poet, writer, and educator whose works explore various themes of resilience, healing, and cultural identity, friendship, religy, natural environment, education, the voice of voiceless. A distinguished member of the literary world, she is affiliated with Indonesian Writer of SATU PENA- Indonesia, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, and the Forum Siti Manggopoh (FSM). Internationally, she is an active member of the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association (ACC SHILA), serving as Indonesia’s Poetry Ambassador, and has contributed to the Victoria Writers Association in Australia.
Since 2006, Leni has been a dedicated lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang (UNP), Indonesia. In addition to her academic career, she has also contributed as a columnist and part-time journalist, enriching public discourse with her insights.
Leni’s passion for literature extends beyond her own writing. She has founded and leads several impactful communities and initiatives that focus on language, literature, literacy, and social empowerment. These include:
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)
Read more: suara-yang-tak-d…ar-fsm-acc-shila
