Tsunami four years ago
It was a bright Sunday morning on December 26
in the year Two Thousand and Four,
With festive fever in the broil,
many scurried with their household chores.
Buddhists paid homage to the Buddha 'coz it was Poya,
Others enjoyed the peaceful bliss of quietness,
silence very rare!
Then in a flash that morning,
life changed for us all bringing distress and gloom,
Mother Nature let out her vengeance
causing destruction and doom.
Huge frightful waves swept the shores
from North to South
In her evil wrath she dragged with force
anything that crossed her path.
Within a matter of minutes and then the sea
so calm and peaceful,
But the damage left behind was unbearable and dreadful.
Mangled and mutilated bodies were strewn everywhere,
Screams and pleas for help filled the now pungent air.
Houses torn apart, broken roads,
wrecked rails, bridges and buildings
The only remains left behind,
the scene so sad and disturbing.
Precious livelihood, trees uprooted,
twisted vehicles with the gushing waters were swept,
Victims cried out for dear ones,
many lost and gone forever, oh! how they wept.
In shock and disbelief, Sri Lankans rallied
in numbers to give out their very best,
To help and console poor victims,
with no thought for either food or rest.
Volunteer workers and relief poured
in from all over the world,
The service they rendered could never be measured
with either silver or gold.
It's been four years now, victims still lament their grief,
They search the distant horizon
waiting in hope and belief.
Little ones eagerly await their kith and kin
to come home some day,
To narrate a bedtime story or a game of cricket to play.
Please Mother Nature spare our beloved country,
Let us be free from all vengeance,
evil, hatred and misery,
Victims of Tsunami Two Thousand and Four
will always be remembered,
As we gather together and pray for
those who have long departed.
-Antoinette de Cruze, Rajagiriya |
