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The Utterance of the Universe
Poem by Anies Septivirawan
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Translated (Indonesian-English) by Leni Marlina
_
I am done
crossing the sea of tempests.
I am done
sailing the ocean of wounds.
I am done
subduing the savagery of storms.
All of it was theater
beneath the vast canopy
of the universe.
Whether frail or mighty,
a small throne in my heart
remains
nested within His story.
I kneel.
I bow.
I swear.
With the skiff of time
I am forever entwined
with prayers.
Upon the parchment of the cosmos
a long promise is written.
There
I, you, they, we
will lower our heads,
will surrender,
to His utterance
the utterance of the universe.
–
Situbondo, East Java, Indonesia
December 15th, 2025
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Ballad of the Lowland Dwellers
Poem by Anies Septivirawan
Translated by Leni Marlina
_
Once upon a lowland plain
stretching from the eastern horizon
to the last breath of the west,
adorned with seas,
with shores where waves converse in thunder.
Nature inscribed its testament there.
Its people learned to persist
tilling soil,
casting nets.
The sun, the burning weather,
were their beloveds.
They loved one another
as husband and wife,
birthing seeds of limestone—
rock-hard heirs,
guardians of thousands of coastal miles.
They stitched their dreams
with the strength of gods,
the purity of gods,
the wisdom of gods.
O lowland
fated only to receive
the arrival of water and refuse,
while the earth loosens its grip
and slides.
That afternoon
mid-April, 2002
the sky wore a wounded face.
Black clouds lay heavy in its lap.
Lightning struck, then wept.
Its tears
mud-thick water
spilled without mercy,
smashing the bridge of hope.
The city unraveled.
They said the lowland
was not at fault.
They said the lowland
was not the bridge of disaster.
Yet the same calamity returned,
its pain more intricate,
unraveling grief again
in early February, 2008.
Floodwaters carried graves and livestock
toward the sea.
City streets transformed
into tributaries
children of rivers
without parents.
They grew intimate with wounds.
They learned to mock disappointment.
Their tears became rain
subscriptions to flash floods,
deliveries of the forest’s sobs,
the anger of mountains.
O lowland, low and lowered still.
O dwellers
who refuse to leave,
who refuse to hurry
your page of destiny lies here,
on this small, lowered earth.
–
Situbondo, East Java, Indonesia Mid-December 2025
——-
About the Poet: Anies Septivirawan
(PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry Pen International Community: PPIC, SatuPena Jatim, KEAI, etc)
Anies Septivirawan is a devoted admirer of literary and cultural arts. He has been passionately writing poetry since 1995 and remains steadfast in his creative journey today. He is a member of the Himpunan Penulis Penyair dan Pengarang Nusantara (HP3N) in Kota Batu and SATUPENA East Java, Indonesia. Born in Dawuhan, Situbondo, East Java, Anies spends his days as an online media journalist. For him, writing is more than an act of expression—it is a sacred ritual to release the body’s negative ions, keeping the spirit healthy and the soul alive.
Anies Septivirawan has published three solo poetry anthologies, while his poems and essays have also appeared in numerous collaborative collections, including one alongside Indonesia’s renowned writer, Gol A Gong. His first solo anthology, “Luka dan Kota Sepi Literasi” (Wounds and the City of Silent Literacy), reveals the loneliness and yearning within urban life. The second, “Menimang Rindu Senja Kala” (Cradling Dusk’s Longing), contemplates the gentle ache of nostalgia and time. His third, “Dua Senja Menyulam Damai” (Two Dusks Weaving Peace), reflects his pursuit of harmony amid the world’s unrest—an affirmation of his belief that poetry, in its quiet resilience, is a path toward peace.
—
About the Translator: 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 an Indonesian 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 in Melbourne, Australia (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 found 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 Marlina is also an active member of writers organization of SatuPena West Sumatra, 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).
—
Indonesian Version of the poems above
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Sabda Semesta
Puisi Anies Septivirawan
_
Usai sudah aku
Menyeberangi lautan prahara
Usai sudah aku
Mengarungi samudera luka
Usai sudah aku
Melumpuhkan ganasnya badai
Itu semua sandiwara
Di bawah naungan semesta raya
Lemah atau pun perkasa
Takhta kecil di hatiku
Ada di dalam kisah-Nya
Aku bersimpuh
Aku bersujud
Aku bersumpah
Dengan sampan waktu
Aku selalu bercumbu
Dengan doa-doa
Di atas kertas semesta
Janji yang panjang
Di sanalah aku, dia
Kalian, mereka, kita
Akan merunduk, tunduk
Kepada sabda-Nya
Sabda semesta
-
Situbondo, 15 Desember 2025
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Balada Para Penghun Dataran Rendah
Puisi: Anies Septivirawan
_
Alkisah sebuah dataran rendah
Itu memanjang dari ufuk masyrik
Hingga maghrib
Dihias laut,
pantai berdebur ombak
Sabda alam mencatat
Para penghuninya menyambung hidup
Bercocok tanam dan
menangkap ikan
Matahari, cuaca panas
Adalah kekasih mereka
Mereka saling mencintai bagai
Sepasang suami istri
Melahirkan benih – benih batu cadas
Penjaga ribuan kilo bibir pantai
Mereka selalu menjahit mimpi
Sekuat dewa
Sesuci dewa
Sebijaksana dewa
Oooh dataran rendah
Yang ditakdirkan hanya menerima
Kehadiran air dan sampah
Bumi melongsorkan tanah
Sore itu adalah
Pertengahan April 2002
Wajah langit muram
Di pangkuannya awan hitam
Petir menyambar lalu menangis
Air matanya
Air berlumpur tumpah ruah
Menghantam jembatan asa
Kota porak – poranda
Mereka menyebut dataran rendah
Tidak bersalah
Mereka menyebut dataran rendah
Bukan jembatan bencana
Meskipun bencana yang sama
Itu bersambung lebih pedih
Mengurai air mata
Pada awal Pebruari 2008
Banjir menggerus penghuni kuburan dan hewan ternak menuju lautan
Jalan – jalan kota menjelma
Anak-anak sungai
Mereka telah akrab dengan luka
Mereka tak segan mengejek kekecewaan
Air matanya adalah hujan
Langganan banjir bandang
Kiriman suara tangis hutan
Amarah gunung – gunung
Oooh dataran rendah yang rendah
Oooh para penghuni
Yang tak mau beranjak
Yang tak mau bergegas
: lembar takdirmu ada di sini
di bumi kecil dan rendah ini
-
Situbondo, Mid-Desember 2025
——
Tentang Penyair: Anies Septivirawan (PPIPM-Indonesia, Poetry Pen International Community: PPIC, SatuPena Jatim, KEAI, dan lain-lain)
Anies Septivirawan adalah sosok yang mencintai seni sastra dan budaya. Sejak 1995, ia menekuni dunia puisi dengan sepenuh hati dan terus berkarya hingga saat ini. Ia tergabung dalam Himpunan Penulis, Penyair, dan Pengarang Nusantara (HP3N) di Kota Batu serta SATUPENA Jawa Timur.
Lahir di Dawuhan, Situbondo, Jawa Timur, Anies bekerja sebagai jurnalis media daring. Bagi dirinya, menulis bukan sekadar mengekspresikan pikiran, tetapi juga sebuah cara untuk menenangkan diri, melepaskan energi negatif, dan menjaga kesehatan jiwa serta spiritual. Ia telah menerbitkan tiga antologi puisi solo, dan karyanya juga muncul dalam berbagai koleksi bersama, termasuk dengan penulis Indonesia ternama, Gol A Gong.
Antologi solo pertamanya, “Luka dan Kota Sepi Literasi”, menyingkap rasa sepi dan rindu di tengah kehidupan perkotaan. Antologi kedua, “Menimang Rindu Senja Kala”, merenungkan kelembutan kenangan dan waktu. Sedangkan antologi ketiganya, “Dua Senja Menyulam Damai”, mencerminkan kerinduannya akan kedamaian di tengah ketidakpastian dunia, menunjukkan keyakinannya bahwa puisi, dengan kesederhanaannya, dapat menjadi jalan menuju harmoni dan ketenangan.
