Diah Widyasari Dardja, from Indonesia, wins the APFW poetry contest with her entry “Whisper of Rainforest”.  

With an interest in writing from an early age, Dardja studied natural resources, agricultural economics and communication management at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture and the University of Indonesia.

The APFW team invited original poems from Asia-Pacific residents to help raise awareness about the value of Asia-Pacific's forests for sustainable development.  The poem verses must relate to some element of forests and forestry in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Winning entry: Whisper of Rainforest

I recall smell of soil after the rain drops,
So reddish dark brown and moist soil,
A heavenly smell,
Leaving no dried leaves,
Make the grasshoppers hide between them,
And so as snakes, hide inside the falling leaves,
And colourful butterflies are moving so fast,
Gladly flying though a tiger is coming over,
While the orangutans keep swinging from one tree to another,
On a tree where black-orchids are blooming,
And mosses are spreading all over the tree trunk,
I am so thrilled, tranquil and peaceful of seeing this sight,

Now I feel the warmth is soon coming,
The sun knows how I long for it,
I hear birds also start echoing their melodies,
Beautiful tone, amazing orchestra,
I feel much joy to see the ray light starts coming through my canopy,
But not too far to reach the floor,
Yet, over there, it is a sign of new bright day,
Time to work, time to birth a new life,
Time to whisper:
How I want you to stand-still,
How I dream you alive,
So alive for the sake of a better humankind,
Where you can keep breathing without pause,
Where you can heal your sickness,
Where you can leave your hunger,
Then it is time for you to grow.