Illustration for "When She Becomes a River": A Selected Poetry Collection (PPIPM – Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writers of Satu Pena, Indonesiam Creators of Era AI). Image Source: Starcom Indonesia's Artworks No. 925-91 (Assisted by AI).
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When She Became a River
A Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
Beneath her ribs,
the wind took refuge,
stitching drizzle with sinews drawn tight,
bearing the weight of names that clung to her spine.
She became a harbor for small, unsteady steps
lost in the pull of the current.
She was the earth that cracked in silence,
offering herself to the hunger of roots,
suckling the light upon trembling shoots,
surrendering her body to the turning seasons
so her children might rise into trees.
Upon her back,
dawn wept slow silver,
her sweat streamed like a river
that never questioned its ending,
so long as the ones who swam in her depths
knew the way to the sea.
If time was a blade of jagged stone,
her soles had long memorized pain.
She built stairways from the ache of hunger,
threading day and night with strands of light
so her children could run unscathed.
And if one day her children turned into birds,
wings unfurling beyond the reach of home,
she would not ask why twilight ached with quiet—
she would only smile,
for her body had become a river,
and rivers always carry their boats to the sea.
Melbourne, Australia, 2012
————
The poem above in Indonesian languange is entitled “Dia yang Menjadi Sungai”.
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Beyond the Sweat
Poem by Dewi Farah
[PPIPM – Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era]
Indonesian-English Translator: Leni Marlina
Beneath the sun’s relentless blaze,
under a sky that knows no bounds,
we toil in silence, carving dreams,
fueling hope with fire-fed souls.
For every drop of sweat is a wish,
woven into the threads of time.
For every step, a whispered prayer,
leading us toward tomorrow’s light.
Endless labor, unyielding hands,
we bear the weight of silent vows,
for a sip of grace, a strand of truth—
Ooooh…
Where, oh where, does fate now run?
Beyond the sweat, our dreams take root,
blooming in the fields of patience,
flowing through the veins of toil,
unyielding, bright, and ever bold—
like stars that never lose their glow.
_ Madura, East Java, Indonesia
January 3rd, 2025
—————-
The poem’s original title in Indonesian languange is “Dibalik Peluh”.
Dewi Farhah is an educator in Language and Literature at Pondok Pesantren Al-Amien Prenduan Sumenep Madura, East Java, Indonesia (2007-2011). She is the founder and principal of PAUD Ar Rahmah Nurul Hidayah, an Early Childhood Education Institution in Lembung Village, Galis District, Pamekasan, since 2012. She has been a board member of Himpaudi Galis District since 2014 and a Central Coordinator for the Class of 2018 (Artzhevant) at TMI Pi Al-Amien Prenduan Sumenep, Madura, Indonesia.
/3/
When War Slashes the Sky
A Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
We are the children of fire,
born from embers no rain can smother,
walking the earth that starves beneath our feet,
but our eyes—furnaces that burn through the dark.
The sky is torn by war,
split open like the flesh of dawn.
The wind howls,
time raves in fevered delirium,
yet our steps—meteors breaking the void,
never turning, never undone.
We stitch the hours with veins of thunder,
build tomorrow from the wreckage of prayers,
for even if the world crumbles to ash,
we plant flames in its hollow bones.
We are not echoes trapped in walls,
not whispers drowned in history’s flood.
We are storms that break through borders,
carving our names into the ribs of stone,
with blood no winter can freeze.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
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The Thunder of a Stranded Soul
Poem by Dewi Farah
[PPIPM – Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era]
Indonesian-English Translator: Leni Marlina
A little girl lights a flickering flame,
her face worn, streaked with sweat.
She marches toward the breathless fallen,
clutching a lone, tattered flag—
a fragile echo of stolen freedom.
But now,
this land is only silence and ruin,
its breath swallowed by the wind.
She grips the flag, steeped in blood,
and cries, her voice a storm:
“This is our land, where life once bloomed!”
“Why do you take all, without mercy?”
“Where shall we seek what was stolen—”
“when the fields are filled with the slain?”
“You, lord of conquest—nations have long been free!”
“Why not us? Why not this land?”
Children, women, men, the old—
all perfumed with the scent of blood.
This is humanity’s shattered prayer,
where God once gifted freedom,
now torn by hands of greed.
The little girl sways, pale as the dawn,
and the land—
only stranded souls remain,
adrift in the wail of the wind.
_Madura, Indonesia,
January 12th, 2025
—————————————–
The poem’s original title in Indonesian languange is “Gemuruh Jiwa Yang Terdampar”.
Dewi Farhah is an educator in Language and Literature at Pondok Pesantren Al-Amien Prenduan Sumenep Madura, East Java, Indonesia (2007-2011). She is the founder and principal of PAUD Ar Rahmah Nurul Hidayah, an Early Childhood Education Institution in Lembung Village, Galis District, Pamekasan, since 2012. She has been a board member of Himpaudi Galis District since 2014 and a Central Coordinator for the Class of 2018 (Artzhevant) at TMI Pi Al-Amien Prenduan Sumenep, Madura, Indonesia.
/5/
Hands That Hold Fire
A Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
We were born from the earth’s defiance,
from the tremors that refused to rest,
not from mist that kneels to morning.
Our hands hold fire—
not to burn the world,
but to wake what has been left to die.
We are the children of this land,
who raise the ruins,
roots that will not be severed,
walls that will not collapse,
wings that will not be broken.
We tread roads sown with nails,
our wounds are rivers of defiance,
and from the blood that sinks into the soil,
rise trees that will touch the sky.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
——————
The poem above in Indonesian languange is entitled “Tangan yang Mengenggam Api”.
/6/
If the Earth Should Break
A Poem by Leni Marlina
[PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry-Pen IC, Indonesian Writer of Satu Pena, Indonesian Creator of AI Era, FSM, ACC SHILA]
We are not silhouettes swallowed by night,
not whispers lost to the throat of mist.
We are voices that shatter silence,
hands that sew the torn sky,
a tempest that batters the gates of injustice.
If the earth should break,
we will become rivers that weave into one.
If the rain lashes our chests, we will rise as shields.
If the night devours all, we will burn as embers,
and if the world dares erase us,
we will carve our names
into a sky no hand can forge.
We are the children of this land, unbowed—
not with steel,
but with love sharper than blades,
stronger than the chains meant to bind us.
If history tries to silence us,
we will write it with our own hands,
hands that will never surrender.
Melbourne, Australia, 2013
———————————-
The poem above in Indonesian languange is entitled “Jika Bumi Rengkah”.
This collection of poems (No. 1, 3, 5, & 6) was originally written bilingually (English-Indonesian) by Leni Marlina in 2013 as a personal endeavor—an intimate reflection of her literary journey while completing the final phase of her Master of Writing and Literature (Literary Studies, Creative Writing & Children’s Literature) in Australia. Supported by an Indonesian government scholarship, these poems remained a private archive for years, revisited and refined over time. In 2025, for the first time, they began to emerge into the world, finding their way to readers through digital platforms.
Leni is an active member of the Indonesian Writers Association (SATU PENA), particularly its West Sumatra chapter since its inception in 2022. She is also community member of the Indonesian Creator of AI Era and member of the International Writers and Poets Community (ACC) in Shanghai. In 2024, she was honored with the title of Indonesian Poetry Ambassador for the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association. Her engagement in literary circles extends back to her time with Victoria’s Writers Association in Australia. Since 2006, she has devoted herself to academia, teaching in the English Language and Literature Department at the Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia.
Beyond academia, Leni has founded and led multiple digital communities dedicated to literature, language, education, and social empowerment. Her initiatives serve as bridges between cultures, fostering literary dialogue and creative expression on both national and international scale. Among them are:
1. World Children’s Literature Community (WCLC): https://shorturl.at/acFv1
2. Poetry-Pen International Community – A global platform for poets and writers.
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 – A forum for linguistic discussions and exploration.
6. Literature Talk Community – A space for literary conversations and critique.
7. Translation Practice Community – A hub for translation enthusiasts and professionals.
8. English Language Learning, Literacy, and Literary Community (EL4C) – Supporting English literacy and creative writing development.
