By Leni Marlina
Amidst the ruins that wail,
We sit in a piercing void,
Our parents have departed,
Perished in the blasts that tore through Palestine's land.
We long for their tender embraces,
Their calming voices amid the shattering explosions,
Now only shadows remain,
Among the fallen walls and blood-stained earth.
Beloved teacher, our guide and heart's beacon,
Now vanished in the consuming flames,
You always came with a sincere affection,
Cherishing and honoring us, your hopeful students in Palestine.
In the classroom once warmed by your smile,
Now filled with dust from the ruins of our learning place,
The floors we once tread with eager spirits,
Now scattered with debris and shards of glass.
In the crowded, silent refugee tents,
We seek peace amidst the howling wind and cold atmosphere,
The ever-blue Gaza Palestine,
Now cloaked in dark smoke and shattered dreams.
From the remains of towers once towering over Palestine,
We recall your gentle, loving gaze,
You taught us with patience and grace,
While outside, the rain of bullets sang a dirge of wrath.
Yet, beneath the grief that cloaks the night,
We are a light that never fades,
Children of Palestine standing firm amid the storm,
With steely resolve, we resist the siege of suffering.
In the pitch-dark night, where stars are hidden,
We sit in somber tents,
With bodies wounded and fragile souls,
Among the rubble that leaves scars and disfigurement on our innocent forms.
We miss your footsteps on the narrow streets of our Palestinian village,
That you once walked with a smile and wisdom,
Now those streets are adorned with silence,
But your footprints live on in our bravery.
You taught us to be patient and to fight,
To seek knowledge amidst the raging storm,
Now, without your guidance, we ask,
How to step over the sharp debris,
With stronger resolve, we shall move forward.
In every ruin, in every scattered dust,
We know your trace will always be there,
Flowing in the once calm rivers of Palestine,
Burning in our hearts that always yearn.
Without our parents and beloved teacher,
We shall continue to fight for our future,
With an undying spirit,
We promise to keep moving, for dreams that shall never fade,
While "peace," so revered, waits in the distance, like a distant shadow on the eastern horizon of Palestine.
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2024
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This poem was originally published in Leni Marlina's poetry collection in 2023, and revised and republished for the first time through digital media in 2024.
Since 2006, the writer has served as a lecturer at the Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang. She has also been the founder and head of the World Children's Literature Community (WCLC) since 2018. Additionally, she has been an active member of the West Sumatra Writers Association since 2022; involved with the Victoria Writers Association - Australia since 2012; Â Hongkong ACC International Writers Community since 2024.
