“FRIENDSHIP’S COFFEE AND LIFE’S LABYRINTH”: Poetry Anthology Edited by Leni Marlina (PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena, KEAI, ACC SHILA, ASM, WPM-Indonesia)
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FRIENDSHIP’S COFFEE AND LIFE’S LABYRINTH
Poem by Leni Marlina
(UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, PLS, ASM, WPM-Indonesia)
Fate brought us together,
from a bitter cup
at an old wooden table, patient—
catching wounds without asking whence they came.
You are no savior,
nor did I ask for rescue.
We are but two cracks
who know how to keep silent,
without unearthing our tears.
Coffee simmers slowly,
like longing unwilling to return,
prayers shyly
touching a mute sky.
Within that steam,
I glimpse your shadow—never truly gone.
Our friendship:
a quiet that asks no meaning,
a pause unwearied
to harbor the soul.
If life’s a labyrinth,
your presence is the marker:
I am not wholly lost.
And when the world’s light fades,
your coffee’s scent remains my compass,
for wounds
still too fresh to heal.
When all is gone someday,
even angels will know—
the bitterness we drank
is history of friendship and steadfastness
we never got to tell.
Victoria, Australia, 2011
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
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LET’S GUARD FRIENDSHIP FOREVER
Poem by Rajesh Sharma
(PPIPM-India, PPIC, ACC SHILA)
Friends like you—
rare and sincere,
treasures of memories—
both old and new—
ever catching up.
Through laughter and tears of the past,
we weave stories, deep and tight.
In darkest hours,
you are the shining light,
a shoulder to shelter on long days and nights.
Our friendship—a true blessing,
a rare gem I found within the heart.
Each smile strengthens our bond,
piercing storms and trials beyond.
This is a celebration of love in friendship true,
for you, for me,
and the ties that never break.
Let us raise our hands, cheer loud,
for friendship growing ever strong,
closer, calmer with each day gone.
May this bond flourish, timeless and bright.
Happy Friendship Day,
to friends who never stray!
August 3th 2025
Hanumakonda District, Telangana, INDIA
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COFFEE COMPANIONS
Poem by Leni Marlina
(UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, PLS, ASM, WPM-Indonesia)
We never agree on sugar’s measure,
yet always brew time together—
in cups whose cracks
we cover with almost confident laughter.
You know I don’t need a morning preacher.
I only need someone
willing to be background voice
when my thoughts echo empty halls,
and the world places me
in the quietest corner of my own life.
You bring no advice,
no tales of triumph that sometimes bore.
You bring yourself—
worn, wounded too,
but choosing to sit
beside one who’s unsteady
so that unsteadiness won’t fall.
Our coffee’s never perfect.
Sometimes bitter,
sometimes cold too soon,
because stories run too long.
But I think that’s the meaning:
you come not to warm the coffee,
but not to leave
when that warmth can’t be restored.
Coffee friends know when to speak,
and when to simply breathe
across the wooden table
that keeps all secrets
without spilling one.
Will we be coffee friends forever?
Victoria, Australia, 2011
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
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A CUP OF COFFEE
Poem by Zulkifli Abdy
(PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – Aceh, KEAI)
Translated (Indonesian-English) by
Leni Marlina (Trans PC)
Waking on the morning’s back,
the cup of coffee has grown stale—
only illusions remain
of a land
still deeply asleep,
resting
on dreams.
Oh.
Beranda, INDONESIA,
August 4th, 2025
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COFFEE AND LIFE’S MAZE
Poem by Leni Marlina
(UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, PLS, ASM, WPM-Indonesia)
You sit in the morning’s corner,
coffee no longer steaming,
and I know—
it’s not coldness chilling your soul,
but the world
spinning aimless,
never looking back
to those left behind
in silent edges.
You once whispered softly,
“life is an unkind labyrinth,”
and I said nothing.
I only watched your eyes
carve a crack
between nameless walls
built by pain and loss.
But listen—
the coffee, though bitter,
still clenched tight in your grasp.
Not coincidence.
It is a sign
that the deepest part of you
still believes in morning,
even if skies are not always blue.
You are human—
not an answer,
not a compass rose,
but a question walking
through fog,
through silence,
with uncertain steps,
yet honest being.
Do you know?
The labyrinth is no curse.
It’s the field where
souls like yours
learn to hear without sound,
learn to forgive without pardon,
and learn to love the wounds
without names.
God does not promise a straight path.
He only entrusts a cup of coffee
with rightful bitterness,
and warmth that slowly fades—
so you know,
even in the gloom,
there’s still something to hold.
So sit a while,
let the dregs settle,
and when ready,
continue on—
not to escape,
but to make peace
with whoever
you find within yourself.
And when dusk finally comes,
with dregs at the bottom and warmth gone,
you will know:
life was never meant to be straight.
Sometimes, the most winding way
is God’s brewing method
for the deepest soul,
so your soul may live
even when life tastes bitter as gall.
Victoria, Australia, 2011
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
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IN LIFE’S LABYRINTH
Poem by Nita Yeni Asmara
(PPIPM-Indonesia, Satu Pena)
Translated (Indonesian-English) by
Leni Marlina (Trans PC)
Behind the night’s dark veil,
a struggling soul hides,
walking winding paths,
where hope often flies away,
and dreams wither.
Each step, suffering lurks,
tears flow endlessly,
like rain within a storm,
washing wounds that never dry,
a journey full of questions.
Disappointment, a loyal friend,
confessing in every moment,
leaving deep traces,
forming an empty space in the heart,
as if the world no longer befriends.
Yet behind the burning pain,
a glimmer of light shines,
a flicker of hope at journey’s end, though small, it will not vanish,
guiding the way through darkness.
To the wind, it whispers, “Keep struggling, though weary,”
for life is art,
shaped from wounds and tears,
becoming beautiful, though full of colors.
In this labyrinth, I hold on,
finding meaning in every pain,
embracing myself, holding feelings close,
for every heartbeat here
is proof I still exist.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2015
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THE AROMA OF COFFEE IN TWILIGHT’S LABYRINTH
Poem by Leni Marlina
(UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, PLS, ASM, WPM-Indonesia)
We never arrived by promise,
but by twilight—
that creeps through window cracks
and sits silent in our cups.
The sky glows orange,
like wounds no longer bleeding
but still felt.
The wooden table holds steam
and secrets of tears
we dissolve with measured laughter.
You are no answer,
I am no question.
We are silence
that does not explain,
but understands the way home
though without a map.
Coffee cools slowly,
like light bowing
behind the hills.
In its last steam,
I see your face:
a shadow that never became night.
That twilight never fully dims
because we remain,
though shadows of the world
keep shifting shape
and the road home
winds without name.
If life is a labyrinth,
your presence is a hallway of light—
where coffee’s scent guides me
through emptiness,
through brokenness,
toward a moment whole.
And if night swallows all,
let the angels’ notes
keep this bitter-sweet feast
as proof:
we once sheltered in twilight’s aroma,
and cared without possession.
Victoria, Australia, 2011
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
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TWILIGHT IN YOUR HEART
Poem by Muslimin (Cak Mus)
(PPIPM-Indonesia; Satu Pena, KEAI, WPM-Indonesia)
Translated (Indonesian-English) by
Leni Marlina (Trans PC)
Twilight in your heart still glows orange,
I guess it holds a space of empty longing,
its corners at zero degrees indifferent,
unclear feelings you hide away.
I try to find it in the moon’s lyric traces,
I get lost deeper in the forest of dreams,
I thought dawn would birth hope,
the morning sun evaporates beyond reach,
with dew screams, a clamor of pain.
Twilight in your heart, could a string of rain
drip on stone, heedless of the cold night,
carving words of longing though faint and slight?
My heart glows fiercely, bearing hope,
with blooming sakura along the path.
I will craft a gift destiny binds,
embracing your shadow in the stillness of sweetness.
Lamongan, East Java, INDONESIA, October 30th, 2024
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OUTSTRETCHED HAND
Poem by Dilla, S.Pd.
(PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena, ACC SHILA, PLS, WPM-Indonesia)
Translated (Indonesian-English) by
Leni Marlina (Trans PC)
We are born from different wombs
yet live in the same world.
Laugh and cry in different ways,
but tears remain clear, sharp, and salty.
No meaning in skin or face difference,
because we can greet each other.
What use are names and titles
if our conscience is left hungry?
Humanity is not who stands highest,
not who has the most titles,
not the loudest voice,
but who understands and feels most,
who is willing to heal and listen
to those who are broken.
An outstretched hand is not to point,
but to help those who have fallen,
to open eyes not to find fault,
but to see hope in those giving up.
Believe that beyond all appearances,
we are merely humans
who will return to the earth.
Because in this world, we survive by loving each other.
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, June 2025
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WHAT I CANNOT BURY WITHIN ME
Poem by Leni Marlina
(UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, PLS, ASM, WPM-Indonesia)
I once tried to forget his name—
like erasing a shadow from water:
he returns in the quietest form,
a breath forgetting its origin.
He does not sit at the dining table,
but the spoon trembles in loneliness.
I do not speak his name in prayer,
yet my prostration touches traces of his tears.
I once wrote his life in letters of mist,
the lines fog on the window of memory
I cannot open
without rain falling from my own eyes.
He is neither memory, nor echo.
He is a silent body within my body.
I look into the mirror—
not me there,
but him,
whom I cannot bury
within myself.
Victoria, Australia, 2011
Padang, West Sumatra, INDONESIA, 2025
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SOMETIMES I DO NOT KNOW HIM
Poem by Nasri A. Muhammad Abduh
(PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena, KEAI)
Translated (Indonesian – English) by
Leni Marlina (Trans PC)
Sometimes I do not know him,
his name passes on birthdays—
I whisper a prayer:
“May your life be blessed by time.”
Sometimes I do not know him,
but sorrow slips through the screen—
I send my respects:
“Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un.”
Sometimes I do not know him,
but his posts light a flame,
I press my heart,
because that is how I greet.
Sometimes I do not know him,
yet I hear his silence,
and reply:
“Subhanallah… stay strong, brother.”
Sometimes I do not know him,
I see his face collapse,
I approach with greetings and open hands:
“Can I help you?”
Sometimes I do not know him,
they dance in noisy TikTok,
and I, a stranger stopping by,
say:
“May I share a little joy?”
Sometimes I do not know him,
but that photo holds a weak body,
and I write:
“May God lift your pain.”
Sometimes I do not know him,
but when he is confused about downloads,
I explain like an old friend.
I greet those I don’t know.
Pretending close? No.
Pretending to know? No.
Just wanting to be human
in a universe too busy forgetting.
And someday,
those unknown
greet me first:
“Hey, brother, how are you? Is there any vacancy?”
I smile,
“Alhamdulillah well, how about you?”
Sometimes, those who truly know
invite me for coffee—
I don’t come.
Busy? No.
(Perhaps just too silent in my world.)
So many strange things on this earth.
We may be alike.
Or completely different.
But surely—
death never strays far from our steps.
Makassar, South Sulawesi, INDONESIA, August 2025
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COMRADES IN STRUGGLE
Poem by Leni Marlina
(UNP Padang, PPIPM-Indonesia, PPIC, Satu Pena – West Sumatra, KEAI, ACC SHILA, PLS, ASM, WPM-Indonesia)
We are two embers
not yet ash,
amid a war with no live broadcast.
No medals.
No victory podiums.
Just us—
and steps never celebrated.
You and I are no storybook heroes,
because no one writes
about those who rise
after falling a hundred times,
then walk on
not knowing if tomorrow’s better
or just a fresh wound.
You grasp my hand on a frozen morning,
not to force me to run,
but so I know:
when the world grows too heavy,
someone silently shares the burden.
We may not save anyone.
But we know what it feels like
not to be saved.
And because of that, we stay.
Remain pillars
when bodies become collapsing homes
for souls near vanishing.
Comrades in struggle aren’t about strength,
but about who stays
when all reasons to endure
lose shape.
If one day you grow weary,
and I am silent first,
remember:
I stood by your side,
heard the same silence,
wept under the same sky,
and believed
that endurance itself
is a noble form of resistance.
Victoria, Australia, 2011
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.
Please read the Indonesian version of the poems above by accessing the official link below:
