/1/
RAIN CARRYING THE NIGHT’S BACK
Poem by Leni Marlina
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Night walked with a limp
when the rain leaned on its shoulders.
The sky resembled an aging man
bearing secrets
he no longer had the strength to utter.
Then the rain bowed,
drop by drop—
like a mother
smoothing her muted sobs
so the world could stay asleep.
The city sealed its voice.
The streets held their breath.
I stood at a crossroads,
watching the rain unfasten fractured hours,
restitching time
on a sheet of water
that reflected my face
more honestly than any mirror.r
In the hush collapsing around me,
a small voice called:
“Do not fear the dark.
I lend you my body
so loneliness will not devour you.”
And night understood
that rain is the steadiest companion,
while rain learned
that sorrow can kindle
its own quiet lantern in the heart.
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025
/2/
THE RAIN THAT LEARNED TO CRY
Poem by Leni Marlina
Rain descended with trembling steps—
like a child
just discovering the difference
between ache and longing.
It tapped upon my window,
asking permission to unseal memories
I had slipped behind
a curtain of silence.
“I carry no grief,”
it whispered to the frangipani leaf
shivering beneath a pale wind.
“I only bring a message
from a lonely sky.”
Its droplets aged in the air,
becoming small, watchful eyes
gazing upon the past
I once refused to touch.
When the rain stopped crying,
it turned to me
with a softened face.
“See,” it said,
“sorrow can return
without disturbing anything.”
Only then did I understand:
sometimes the rain does not fall
to soak the earth—
but to steady the heartbeat
it carries within itself.
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025
/3/
THE RAIN THAT DRIPS WITH MEMORY
Poem by Edi S. Febri
Translated (Indonesian-English) by
Leni Marlina
Is it wrong of me
to still curse the rain
for fueling the fire of my longing?
Rain is not merely water
falling from the clouds—
it is a storyteller
of moonlight,
of oceans,
of fields of wild grass,
of meetings that ended in hurt.
All of them wish to gather,
to become a poem
woven from the letters
of the past.
Once,
we walked through the rain
at the edge of evening,
hand in hand,
seeking warmth
in brief embraces,
then laughing together.
your hair was drenched
drops falling in beads
the wind cooling your
trembling fingers
The rain still carries that story—
though storms try to erase it,
there is always a path
that leads back to remembering you.
Today,
I am still waiting,
hoping the rain will soften,
sharing this quiet longing,
if only to soothe
the growing ache of missing you.
GRS, September 5th, East Java, Indonesia, 2025
/4/
THE RAIN THAT WILL NOT BE STILL
Poem by Edi S. Febri
Rain lingers yet
in this blistering season—
a sign, perhaps,
the sky has not the courage to speak.
Without a whisper,
the clouds loosen their sorrow,
falling softly on the leaves,
sending a shiver
through the trembling world.
The rain refuses to rest;
it searches still
for something unseen,
a fleeting dream-shadow
held beneath the warmth of sleep.
something has vanished
something aches to be recalled
This rain is no mere greeting;
its trembling beads endure,
unceasing,
laughing
as if forgetting
the drought’s long-open wound.
a hush of wind murmurs
holding close the night grown colder
And in September,
the rain loosens its meanings—
for the seasons,
it seems,
have not yet found the will to change.
GRS, East Jawa, Indonesia
September 9th, 2025
——-
About the Poet: Edi S. Febri (PPIPM-Indonesia: Indonesian Poetry Reading & Writing Society, PPIC: Poetry Pen International Community, other writing & literary communities)
Edi S. Febri was born in Batang, Central Java, on February 6. He began writing during his early years in junior high school and has since cultivated a lifelong devotion to poetry. To date, he has written thousands of poems, compiled in hundreds of collective anthologies, as well as in his single-author poetry collection, METAMORPHOSIS (Anara, 2021).
In addition to poetry, Edi also writes short stories, although not as prolifically as his poems. In March 2025, he published his debut novel, Nyanyian Pucuk Cemara, marking a significant milestone in his prose writing.
Rain, sunsets, and flamboyan trees serve as enduring sources of inspiration for Edi, recurring throughout much of his poetry. His style is marked by clarity and accessibility, often featuring unconventional spacing, irregular stanzas, and italicized words, distinguishing him from other writers.
Currently, Edi S. Febri resides in Batang, Central Java, where he works as a journalist, seamlessly blending his love for words with his professional life.
/5/
SOMEONE I DO NOT KNOW DWELLS IN THE RAIN
Poem by Leni Marlina
I once thought rain was only water.
But it arrived carrying someone.
A thin shadow,
shivering behind the veil of falling drops—
as though trying to confess
what it could no longer speak aloud.
“Whose heart do you seek?”
I asked gently.
A faint smile flickered—
the smile of one
who keeps his fractures hidden.
“I search for myself,” he said,
“yet my steps
lose their way
inside the memories of others.”
In the trembling mirror of a puddle,
I saw his clouded eyes—
the gaze of a wanderer
who has misplaced a home
within his own chest.
As the rain waned,
he too began to fade.
All that remained
was the scent of wet earth—
a quiet reminder
that anyone can vanish
from themselves.
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025
/6/
THE RAIN THAT STITCHED THE MORNING
Poem by Leni Marlina
Morning arrived wounded.
A rip lay open
across the belly of the sky,
unmended by the previous night.
The rain descended slowly,
carrying a needle of light
and a thread of cold
borrowed from the thinnest dawn mist.
With devoted hands,
it stitched the sky together—
like a steadfast nurse
returning breath
to a weary world.
The seams whispered—
a sound heard only
by hearts still willing
to believe in hope.
When the sky finally closed,
the rain left a single drop
on the edge of a lontar leaf:
a trembling bead
waiting for the sun
to give it a new name.
And morning blossomed gently,
as though it knew
that healing never arrives at once—
but comes in slow descents,
from a sky learning
to forgive itself.
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2025
———
About the Poet: Leni Marlina (UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, SatuPena West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, PLS, PILF)
Leni Marlina was born in Baso, Agam, West Sumatra, and currently resides in Padang. She is a poet, writer, and lecturer in the English Literature Study Program at the Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang, where she has been teaching since 2006. Her life and work merge education, the arts, and the pursuit of meaning through words, silence, and imagination.
Writing poetry since 2000, Leni Marlina has produced thousands of works reflecting contemplative thought, environmental and social issues, humanity, and the pursuit of peace. During her Master’s studies in Writing and Literature at the University of Melbourne (2011–2013), she continued to write, using poetry as a quiet space that awakens awareness. Since 2024, she has opened her “ocean of words” to the public through various digital platforms.
Her recent works include the single poetry collections The Beloved Teachers (2025) and L-BEAUMANITY: Love, Beauty, and Humanity (2025), as well as the trilogy English Stories for Literacy (2024–2025). Beyond teaching, she is actively involved in national and international literary communities and has founded several literacy and digital literature initiatives.
As the founder and chair of multiple social, literary, and digital literature movements—such as PPIPM-Indonesia (Indonesian Poetry Readers and Writers Community), Poetry-Pen International Community (PPIC), Literature Talk Community (Littalk-C), and EL4C (English Language Learning, Literature, and Literacy)—she continues to bridge generations through literature, fostering cultures of reading, writing, and reflection.
Leni is also an active member of SatuPena Sumbar, the Komunitas Penyala Literasi Sumbar (PLS), and numerous other communities dedicated to language, literacy, literature, and culture.
In recognition of her dedication, she received the Best Writer Award 2025 from SatuPena West Sumatera at the 3rd International Minangkabau Literacy Festival (IMLF-3), and the ACC International Literary Prize 2005 from the ACC Shanghai Huiyu International Literary Creative Media Centre.
In 2025, Leni was appointed Indonesian Poetry Ambassador to the ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association (ACC SHILA) and further entrusted with the role of *ASEAN Director for ACC SHILA Poets. In that same year, the Capital Writers International Foundation named her National Director (Indonesia) for the International Panorama Literary Festival (IPLF) 2026, scheduled for January–February 2026 (www.panoramafestival.org).
