Night at the Heroes' Cemetery (Malam di Taman Makam Pahlawan) | ORBITINDONESIA.COM
ENGLISH POEM
Night at the Heroes' Cemetery
By Leni Marlina
[Poetry Community of Indonesian Society Inspiration; Poetry-Pen International Community; Indonesian Writers Satu Pena West Sumatra, Indonesian Creator of AI Era; Literature & Linguistic Talk Community; ACC Shanghai Huingfei International Literary Association, Translation Practice Community; English Language Learning, Literature and Literacy Community, English Department Universitas Negeri Padang]
<<1>>
That night, darkness hung heavy,
A weight upon the sky,
I walked through the quiet aisle,
Past tombstones, cold and still.
Beneath the pale gaze of the moon,
The gravestones were like ancient bones,
Creeping from the earth’s belly,
Waiting for me, to be swallowed whole by eternal silence.
The wind whispered, carrying the breath of fallen heroes
From a realm unseen,
It slipped into my ears, my heart, my bones,
They rose from the hardened soil,
Their eyes gleaming like embers ablaze,
In a space frozen by the passage of time.
<<2>>
One by one, their figures emerged
From the dense, unyielding dark,
Their clothes torn and worn,
Their greatness wrapped in dust and earth.
"Why have you come on our night?"
They asked, their voices echoing like a whispering storm,
"A night where history never rests,
Where we, the fallen, are never truly gone."
I trembled, my body shook,
Yet my steps carried me forward,
As though pulled by the gravity of the past,
Towards them, the unseen keepers of time.
<<3>>
They smiled, but it was a smile that broke,
A fractured smile,
Their faces cracked like parched earth,
Wounds gaping in hands that once held swords.
"Our love for this land,
Is love written in blood,"
They said,
"The red sun you see each morning,
Is us,
Burning for the light you breathe."
I saw burning rice fields in their eyes,
Forests felled to ash,
Oceans in turmoil from the black oil that stains them.
"This homeland is not for sale,"
They cried, their voices thundering like a storm.
"Not to be bartered in the dark markets of the world,
Not to be consumed by the scorching greed of capitalism.
We have paid an immeasurable price,
So, this land may stay green."
<<4>>
They stretched their hands toward me,
Their skin like charred wood,
Scorched by the fires of war,
Yet they stood firm, like ancient trees defying the storm.
"There is no gold more precious
Than the blood we have spilled,
No treasure greater
Than the freedom we carved
With wounds upon our chests and soil in our hands."
They ignited the very air with their presence,
Making the sky weep with gentle rain,
But I knew, those were their tears.
I staggered, my breath short,
But I could not look away,
I could not flee from their gaze,
Which pierced my soul like an unsheathed sword.
"This earth must not be pawned,
We are the shadows beneath your feet,
Do not surrender the land we have sworn to protect."
I felt the earth tremble beneath my feet,
As if the soil itself were speaking,
From unseen bones,
From blood still flowing in the roots of trees.
That night felt eternal,
But I knew,
That though they are buried,
Their love for this land
Will never fade.
Like a fire that never dies,
Like a star that pierces the night.
Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 2018
Note:
https://englishliterature.fbs.unp.ac.id/lecturers/lm-2266/
Illustration of Leni Marlina's Poem "Night at the Heroes' Cemetery".
Source of Image: Starcom Indonesia’s Painting Collection (Assisted by AI)
Leni Marlina is an active member of the Indonesian Writers Association, SATU PENA branch of West Sumatra, since its establishment in 2022; the Indonesian Creators Community in the Era of AI. Additionally, she is an active member of the International Poetry and Literature Writers Community (ACC) in Shanghai and serves as the Indonesian Poetry Ambassador for the Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association. Leni has also been involved with the Victoria Writers Association in Australia. Since 2006, she has been dedicated to teaching English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang.
Leni Marlina has founded and leads several small social, language, literature, and literacy communities with digital platforms including:
- World Children’s Literature Community (WCLC): https://shorturl.at/acFv1
- Poetry-Pen International Community
- PPIPM (Pondok Puisi Inspirasi Masyarakat), the Poetry Community of Indonesian Society's Inspirations: https://shorturl.at/2eTSB; https://shorturl.at/tHjRI
- Starcom Indonesia Community (Starmoonsun Edupreneur Community Indonesia): https://rb.gy/5c1b02
- Linguistic Talk Community
- Literature Talk Community
- Translation Practice Community
- English Language Learning, Literacy, Literary Community (EL4C)
Malam di Taman Makam Pahlawan
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Oleh: Leni Marlina
1)
Malam itu, kelam menggantung berat di atas langit,
Aku berjalan di lorong sunyi,
Melintasi barisan nisan yang terdiam dingin.
Di bawah sorotan bulan pucat,
Batu-batu makam bagaikan tulang belulang
Yang mengintip dari perut bumi,
Menungguku, menelanku dalam sunyi yang kekal.
Angin berbisik, membawa napas para pahlawan
Dari dunia yang tak terlihat,
Menyelinap ke telinga, ke hati, ke tulangku,
Mereka bangkit dari tanah yang kaku,
Mata mereka bersinar seperti bara api yang menyala
Dalam ruang yang beku oleh waktu.
2)
Satu per satu, sosok mereka muncul
Dari kegelapan yang pekat,
Baju mereka compang-camping,
Kebesaran mereka terbungkus debu dan tanah.
"Kenapa kau datang di malam kami?"
Tanya mereka dengan suara yang bergaung dalam bisikan,
"Malam di mana sejarah tidak tidur,
Di mana kami tak pernah benar-benar mati."
Aku menggigil, tubuhku gemetar,
Namun langkahku tetap maju,
Seolah terseret dalam gravitasi masa lalu,
Menuju mereka, para penjaga tak kasat mata.
3)
Mereka tersenyum, tapi senyum itu
Adalah senyum yang patah,
Wajah mereka retak-retak seperti tanah gersang,
Luka menganga di tangan yang dulu menggenggam senjata.
"Cinta kami pada negeri ini,
Adalah cinta yang ditulis dengan darah,"
Kata mereka,
"Matahari merah yang kau lihat setiap pagi,
Adalah kami,
Yang terbakar untuk cahaya yang kau hirup."
Aku melihat sawah-sawah terbakar di mata mereka,
Hutan-hutan yang ditebang habis,
Lautan yang meradang oleh tumpahan minyak hitam.
"Tanah air ini bukan untuk dijual,"
Seru mereka, dan suara mereka bagaikan gemuruh badai.
"Tidak untuk diperdagangkan di pasar gelap global,
Bukan untuk terik panas kapital yang menghisap nyawa.
Kami telah membayar harga yang tak terhitung,
Agar tanah ini tetap hijau."
4)
Mereka merentangkan tangan ke arahku,
Kulit mereka seperti arang, hangus terbakar oleh peperangan,
Tapi mereka tetap berdiri tegak,
Seperti pohon-pohon tua yang menantang badai.
"Tidak ada emas yang lebih berharga
Dari darah yang telah kami tumpahkan,
Tidak ada kekayaan yang lebih agung
Dari kemerdekaan yang telah kami ukir
Dengan luka di dada dan tanah di tangan."
Mereka membakar udara dengan kehadiran mereka,
Membuat langit menangis gerimis,
Tapi aku tahu, itu adalah air mata mereka.
Aku tersentak, napasku tersengal-sengal,
Namun aku tak bisa berpaling,
Aku tak bisa lari dari tatapan mereka,
Yang menusuk jiwaku seperti pedang yang terhunus.
"Bumi ini tak boleh tergadai,
Kami adalah bayangan di bawah kakimu,
Jangan kau gadaikan tanah yang telah kami jaga."
Aku merasakan bumi bergetar di bawah langkahku,
Seolah tanah ini berbicara,
Dari tulang belulang yang tak terlihat,
Dari darah yang masih mengalir di akar pepohonan.
Malam itu terasa abadi,
Tapi aku tahu,
Bahwa meski mereka telah terkubur,
Cinta mereka pada negeri ini
Tak akan pernah hilang.
Seperti api yang terus menyala,
Seperti bintang yang menembus malam.
Padang, Sumatra Barat, 2018
................................................
Penulis adalah anggota aktif perkumpulan penulis SATUPENA Sumatra Barat (Sumbar).
Menurut saya puisi ini menggambarkan pertemuan dengan roh para pahlawan yang gugur, yang mengingatkan kita tentang pengorbanan dan cinta mereka terhadap tanah air. Mereka memperingatkan bahwa kemerdekaan dan bumi yang telah mereka pertahankan dengan darah harus dijaga, bukan dijual atau dihancurkan. Meskipun telah tiada, cinta dan perjuangan mereka tetap hidup, seperti api yang menyala dalam ingatan kita.
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