An Ode to mother and father

Oh! mother!
When we were kids,
You would take us to a
Sweetmeats shop, and
Allow us to eat as
Many pieces of cake as
We wanted, but
You wouldn't eat
A single piece and
Watch with joy
Our happy faces.

Oh! father!
On your way back
Home from work,
You would bring,
Uludu wadai for
Us to enjoy without
Eating one nor a cup
Of tea on the way
And watch with joy
Our happy faces.
Now old and feeble,
You both desire not
Anything but the happiness
Of your children.

With the greatest difficulty,
I give both of you
A sumptuous meal
Once in a while and
Watch with joy
The two of you eating away
With the joy of two kids
Who have received a delicacy.

May you live long to
See your great-grand children
And may your last years
Be filled with joy and peace.

Chandrasriya de Silva

Those were the days ...

Oh! those were the days,
When you look back and remember,
Bathing, frolicking, in water unpolluted,
River, ela, sea, in gay surrender!

If you wanted to see the ships,
To the port you go at will.
No charges, no restrictions.
Oh! how your heart would thrill!

To Katunayake, you would go,
See the planes that you fancy,
Planes that land and take off.
Only ask your aunty nancy!

What a thrill it was to drive a car,
The late fifties and early sixties,
Road congestion and noise pollution,
Unheard of, even in the cities.

O! those were the good old days!

Dr. E. S. N. de Silva

The Drought

Those days,
I remember I saw,
In your bright brownish beautiful eyes,
A vast sea of affection;
An ocean of sympathy;
A spring of trust;
And it often gave me,
A tremendous tranquil delight
To look at you,
My lovely gracious girl...

But now your visage reminds me
Of a dry, desolate, dark landscape,
Enveloped by dreary despair,
With your ferocious frowns,
And trustless, hostile glances...

And I see that doubt,
Like a long rigorous drought
Has afflicted our relationship
And blighted all our happiness..

Jayashantha Jayawardhana

Hidden truth

You can't pretend
ignorance of my passionate gestures.
When you passes senses,
not dormant but wide awake.
Turn to act our roles,
we are destined to play.
It's unfair for the rose to wither
denying the drone of divine suck.

Wake from the dream see through the mist
you possess divine pleasure, curse not.
The Creator despoiling hope, but be
yourself a creator despising austerity.
Saints were crude,
before being refined.

Be my Psyche,
I'll be the Cupid.

T. M. J. B. Tennakoon

Learn from Nature

Oh, man, why lazy you are!
When all things in nature
Are active all the time
See how the river runs
On its course without a slight stop
Despite the obstacles that
stand in the way
Look! . . . the sun which never
Bothers about other's hindrances
And rises from its bed
And sets out on its long journey
To shed light to the waiting lives
For revival
And never shows fatigue
In its daily toil
Dew drops on the blades of grasses
Merge with the embrace of the sun lover
To appear again in the dark
So why indolent you are
Even after the better lesson
From the natural phenomena.

M. Y. M. Meeadh

Twins

Hunger and anger are identical twins
Who resemble one another
No one can tell from the other
But hunger is born first
Anger comes next
May not depression and ill-health
Overcome both of them

Warapalane Jayawardhana

Embers of fire

I with stoic resignation
Have long given-up my frequent visits
To the clownish specialist
Who with a twinkle in his eyes
Sheepishly keep on prescribing me
All kinds of sugar-coated pills
For my recurring aches
Continuously striking its needles on and around my spine
Undaunted, I rapturously carry on
Watching the spectacular sight
Of nubile and charming damsels
Walking briskly on the highway
Vying the chic models in a cat walk
And suddenly my life brightens-up
With a new look
Momentarily halting
The unbearable chill of winter
Approaching steadfastly
Like an ogre carrying a heavy casket
As an omen of doom
And I seek a diversion
Seeking an uninterrupted
And blissful session of fun and frolic
Awaiting to die with mortal wounds
As predicted by the renowned astrologer
From a head-long crash
Epitomising symbolically
The transience of life
With a faded red-rose
Languishing in a solitary confinement
Keeping vigil in the eerie silence
Of the sombre-graveyard
Thankfully, rarely disturbed
By the howlings of the marauding wolves
Resonating from far-away woods.

Ranjan Amarasinghe

Have hope

In the twilight of one's life let's sail;
Down memory lane and not fail
To recall those happy days spent-not in vain.
When your help you lent and felt no pain
To young and old that thronged your door;
To receive hospitality not much: But more
Your young strength went through much test
To give to them of all your best.
Alas! Now within four walls you rest;
Where are the folks that formed your guest?
The clatter and patter of tongues and feet
And song and laughter when they did meet
Alone you sit and wonder why?
Perhaps think deep and often sigh!
A stranger to them you happened to be
As there's nothing more to dole out you see.
A smile a nod will not cost much
That too is denies to you as such
Since help rendered - To old feeble folk
Fame and glory brings them not: 'Tis a joke
When life is uncertain your path unclear
Yet you have no cause to falter and fear
This darkness that prevails this lonely hour
Will quickly be dispelled by his great power.

Norma Perera