Poetry

Symbol of hope

Soul of my land
I hear the charming music
of the cascading falls;
The rippling rivulets
The twittering song birds
But neath it all
The long drawn sigh of melancholy
The heaving of thy bosom
For a cherished dream
Shattered!

Soul of my land
I see thy verdant beauty
The gossamer mists
Veiling the rugged mountain tops
The azure sky and sea.
The waves that gently lap against the shore
Eroding!
Yes! eroding the unity
The values so long maintained

I see thy dewy tear drops
As streaks of dawn
gold-tint the sky.
As the ruddy hue
of the afterglow at dusk
Illuminates

My soul weeps with thee
land of my birth
But the fluttering banner of freedom
Proudly struts in the wafting breeze
Instilling hope
The proclamation
Of the achievement of a nation
Reiterating that strife should cease.

Jeannette Cabraal

From ship log

Sailed close to Satan
And sometimes glimpsed
His face by ship's lantern,
The sea then as black as he
And as ugly, wrinkled with darkness-
The wry, knowing half-smile
In the leer of his evil.
The ship steered forth
With strong undercurrent
Against the drag of Beelzebub,
His pulling down to the heavy ocean depth.
Starboard proved stronger.
The voyage continued on.
Then the devils turned porpoises-
Black, pot-bellied, slithery.
Comic of evil.
Starlit the night soon.
Sky map clear.
Stern strong homeward.

Patrick Jayasuriya

Valentine's Day vs Boxing Day

In life and death, together we should be,'
To his ever loving girlfriend, said he.
It was on the last year's Valentine's Day,
The assurance was given with happy and gay say.

Gifts were exchanged to mark the day.
For supreme blessings in a shrine they did pray.
Every time they met, they built castles in the air.
Whatever the day's joy or sorrow they did share.

The young, innocent, village lovers thus continued,
Their life with inspiration, expectation and fortitude.
But the cruel tsunami of the Boxing Day of 2004,
Swallowed the lives of those lovers away from shore.

Where are those lovers now on this Valentine's Day?
Unknown to each other they departed without a say.
O, you the Valentine's Day, thousands of coastal lovers,
Who welcomed you previous year fell life like withered flowers.

O Valentine's Day, where will you build a monument on earth,
To thousands of lovers who cherished on your annual birth?
Will you forget them because you have other millions of lovers,
Or will you sincerely drop a tear in memory of your late followers?

Nazly Cassim

The poor blind man!

I am, a poor Blind man
I have no sight,
I beg for my living
I know that's my plight!

I have no family
I live all alone,
I care not for the morrow
I live for the day!

I have no idea
How to make ends meet,
I trust god Almighty
To give me a meal!

I do not know
What life, holds for me,
Someone always helps
When I'm, in need!

I wish, I had my sight
Then, I could have seen,
The World in all its beauty
And the day, before the night!

I don't forget to carry
My long white cane,
With its aid, I hurry
Always on my way!

Poverty, know I well
And my life's very hard,
I seek for no comfort
Which, I never had!

I depend upon charity
To help me on my way,
Through this world of disparity,
Right through the day!

I'd be, grateful to god
If he restored my sight,
Then, I'd be very glad
To see, the bright daylight !

C. Mohanlal de Mel

Red rose

Red rose has grown
in my garden green
Its sweet smell
Pervades all around
yesterday's rose
begins to shed its petals
As the days gone by
the bright coloured
rose petals lay on the ground
teaching us a lesson in life
That all things are subject
to change and decay
the faded petals will go back
to the dust from where it sprung
Unsung, unfettered and unloved

J.P Pathirana

'Why'

When you planted the seed of love
in my heart,
watched it and cared it
and made it swell into blossom
The bitter life became better.

You were generous
and kind-hearted,
honest and simple
humble and noble
in all your ways

but we had to obey our fate
and to obey our parents
you had to bid me farewell
but I'll never ask you why?

Malkanthi Gunathunga

A tree's lament

I am a mother
But I am not a human being
Or an animal, bird, fish, reptile or any other
I am a tree - flourished
I grew up with great difficulties
Rooted in the same place throughout
I survived with whatever I got
From the earth, sun, air and rain
I bring forth many children
Whom human beings call flowers
They are so beautiful and a joy to me
But strangers come in mornings
And pluck them away
Before I admire my children's beauty
And before they enjoy their life
Though withers soon
Strangers pluck my children
To beautify themselves with
Some say they are taking them
To offer to the Gods
But sell them to florists
To make garlands
And deprive me of my joy,
And my children's enjoyment
And the common man's pleasure
In appreciating the natural beauty

ARUL

Birds

Deep in a rose hedge
Cosy and warm,
Deep in their slumber
They slept in the dawn
In the absence of mother
The roses did keep,
A watchful eye
A lull' and a peep.
Till mother should fly back
With fruit in her bill,
Lil' birds will not lack
Food for their fill

George Eddie

If past can be erased

Yes, I still remember the first time
That we met,
The very first time I saw merriment
In your eyes whenever our eyes met
And the very first time we got lost
In each others' eyes

The moments when I saw wonder,
Adoration in your eyes
The very first time that I saw compassion
In eyes of innocence

How can I forget the days
When my only vision was you
The very first days when I fell in love with you
Lessons learned, memories treasured
Time has come to say good bye
To a dew of spring and move on to the future

Bertholameuze Nisansala Dharmasena

The fly and fate

A fly was flying
Free in the sky
With a blink of an eye
A web caught the fly

The spider was coming
The Fly was struggling
The poor one's fate
solve by the might

Weeping my heart
understood after a while
It is part of the life
like a jungle law style

rulers are spiders
Ruthless blood suckers
their tricks are like the web
Are'nt we the poor flys

Haleen Ambegoda

Ali Bumaye

He who looks like a butterfly
Stings like a bee
No scares on his face
He is the champion of champions

When he was drafted
He refused to kill the yellow man
He said they did not call me a nigger
So I will not go to Nam.

He defeated many boxers
Also fought against injustice
Mohamed Ali is still fighting
This time may be Parkinsonism

No matter how long it will take
He has not given up the fight
Still got courage and spirit
To face any type of opponents

Dr. Ruwan M. Jayatunge