Night at the Indonesian Heroes Cemetary

Ilustration for Leni Marlina's Poem "Night at the Indonesian Heroes's  Cemetary". Pic. Source: Starcom Indonesia's Painting Collection No. 46 by AI

Night at the Indonesian Heroes' Cemetery

Poem by Leni Marlina

1)

That night, darkness hung heavy in the sky,
I walked through the silent corridor,
Traversing rows of cold, still tombstones.
Beneath the pale glow of the moon,
The gravestones resembled bones
Peeking from the earth's womb,
Awaiting me, swallowing me in eternal silence.

The wind whispered, carrying the breaths of heroes
From an unseen world,
Slipping into my ears, my heart, my bones,
They rose from the stiff ground,
Their eyes glowing like embers ignited
In a space frozen by time.

2)

One by one, their figures emerged
From the thick darkness,
Their clothes tattered,
Their greatness wrapped in dust and soil.
"Why do you come to our night?"
They asked in voices echoing like whispers,
"The night where history does not sleep,
Where we never truly die."

I shivered, my body trembled,
Yet my steps pressed on,
As if drawn by the gravity of the past,
Moving towards them, the unseen guardians.

3)

They smiled, but that smile
Was a broken one,
Their faces cracked like parched earth,
Wounds gaping on hands that once wielded weapons.
"Our love for this land,
Is a love written in blood,"
They spoke,
"The red sun you see each morning,
Is us,
Burned for the light that you breathe."

I saw burning fields in their eyes,
Forests felled to the ground,
Seas raging from the spillage of black oil.
"This homeland is not for sale,"
They cried, their voices rumbling like a storm.
"Not to be traded in the dark global market,
Not for the searing heat of capitalism that drains life.
We have paid an immeasurable price,
To keep this land green."

4)

They stretched their hands toward me,
Their skin like charred wood, scorched by war,
Yet they stood tall,
Like ancient trees challenging the storm.

"There is no gold more precious
Than the blood we have shed,
No wealth greater
Than the freedom we have carved
With wounds in our chests and soil in our hands."

They ignited the air with their presence,
Making the sky weep with drizzle,
But I knew, those were their tears.
I gasped, my breath caught,
Yet I could not look away,
I could not flee from their gazes,
Piercing my soul like drawn swords.

"This earth must not be pawned,
We are shadows beneath your feet,
Do not mortgage the land we have guarded."

I felt the earth tremble beneath my steps,
As if the land spoke,
From the invisible bones,
From the blood still flowing in the roots of trees.

That night felt eternal,
Yet I knew,
Though they lay buried,
Their love for this land
Would never fade.
Like a fire that keeps burning,
Like stars piercing through the night.

Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2018

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This poem was first written in Indonesian by Leni Marlina as part of her personal poetry collection in 2018. With sincere effort, it was later edited and translated, and it was shared digitally for the first time in 2024. You can find the original Indonesian version through this link:
https://orbitindonesia.com/detail/29352/Malam-di-Taman-Makam-Pahlawan

The poem was created with a heartfelt wish that children and people of all ages may one day recite it—whether at schools, universities, communities, or even through video—and share their experiences with the World Children's Literature Community (WCLC). Warm regards and continued enthusiasm from WCLC 🙏 (World Children's Literature Community): https://shorturl.at/acFv1

Since 2006, Leni Marlina has had the privilege of serving as a lecturer in the Faculty of Language and Arts at Universitas Negeri Padang. She has also been fortunate to establish and lead a few literary and educational communities, such as the World Children's Literature Community (WCLC), POETRY-PEN International Community, and the Indonesian Poetry Reading and Writing Community (PPIPM: Pondok Puisi Inspirasi Masyarakat).

Additionally, she has been entrusted with running two English language courses: ECSC (English Children's Literature Smart Course) and MEC (Marvelous English Course), as well as a digital-based social community, Starcom Indonesia (Starmoonsun Edupreneur Community Indonesia). Leni Marlina remains grateful to be a member of the Indonesian Writers Association SATU PENA West Sumatra and to collaborate internationally with the Victoria Writers Association in Australia and the ACC International Writers Community in Hong Kong.