Poetry

Cords Dismantled

Thankfully
I have reached
The threshold of
Middle age
Without much regrets
For most of the time
I can boast of
Having a never ending
Rollicking party
Swaying in a rapture
To the heart - rendering music
Embraced by the magical warmth
Of endearing and
Ever lasting solace of friendship

Though admittedly
There was a discord
When I rang you up
with high hopes
And expectations
For I was blind
To your visible blemishes
Even in my hey day of youth
Lured by your feminine beauty

And understandably
I should have expected
A cold reception
As you are carrying the heavy load of
Your newly found
Treasure of sophistication

Gathered in the salubrious
Clime of exile
So, when you cut off the call
Crisply, being too busy
To prolong the conversation
Beyond the time slot of three minutes

And instead of lamenting
Of my loss of a valued friendship
I should have perceived
It as quite natural
In ending-up
The much sought conversation
Without any utterance of
Goodbye or any hint of
Enhancing bondage

Ranjan Amarasinghe

Feathered friends

A few of our feathered friends exquisite;
Residential, endemic, migratory and vagrant.

Orange minivets, openbill storks, water rails, Indian skylarks,
Ubiquitous crows, grey plovers, Asian Fairies and green pigeons.
Rock pigeons, red-vented bulbuls, pond herons, fly catchers,

Flamingos, partridges, fantail wabblers and Indian pittas.
Emerelled doves, spotted doves, rock pigeons, Indian ringdoves,
Ash doves, bronze winged pigeons, pied avocets and wood pigeons.
Turtle doves, common teals, sand pipers, sanderlings,
Hornbills, pied kingfishers, hill mynas and house sparrows.
Edible swifts, grey herons, goshawks, malkohas,
Racket tailed drongos, wagtails, bush wabblers and weaver birds.
Eagrets, peafowls, peregrins, magpies, bee eaters,
Drongo euckoos, moor hens, pons herons and night herons.

Forest eagleowls, large eagrets, harriers, common buzzards,
Reef herons, common curlews, glossy ibises and grey pelicans.
Indian rollers, purple herons, painted stalks, pied thrushes,
Eagle owls, swamp herons, snipers and common terns.
Nightjars, woodpeackers, water cocks, water hens,
Ducks, stilts, greylag geese, tufted ducks and rain quails.
Small minivets, whistling thrushes, common coucals, purple coots,

Blackthroated munias, barbets, sunbirds and golden orioles.
Eastern curlews, swamphens, tailor birds, cormorants,
Lorikeets, hanging parrots, lapwigs and parakeets.
Oriental ibises, swans, penguins booming bitterns,
Vagrant jackdaws, Indian koels, water herons and sea swallows.
Eagle merlins, falcons, hawks, goat suckers, barnowls,
Devil birds, hornbills, seagulls, cockatoos and nightingales.

Jayaweera D. Gunaratne

The din begins again

The college staff room
Chuckling, giggling & laughing
Beat the din outside,
A hush here and a hush there,
A serious chat, at some corner,
Yet, undisturbed they carry on.

Stuffed to brim Tiffin boxes;
The aroma, mouth watering!;
A sprawling culinary display!
Believe me! Generosity on top,
Offering, sharing & denials
All taking place, quite polite.

A few gents pop in,
Crack a joke, silly and vulgar,
Laughter burst out
Almost in singsong chorus.
Choked up, one may cough
A gentle tap settles all.

A grand old lady; meanwhile,
With quick fingers across the lips,
Silences the merry bunch.
One minute respect yet,
The din begins again.

Sajendra Kumara

Nature friend

You give me the shade,
That I need,
To comfort my weary body,
And to make my mind happy,
When I am sitting beneath you.

You give me the softness
From the gentle breeze.
Blowing through your softleaves
And relieves me from my worries
When I am sitting beneath you

You provide me a stage
To discuss about and listen to,
Philosophical views, topics on politics
Criticisms of Art
And many other things
When I am sitting beneath you.

You make me a person
With an understanding of reality
By opening my eyes
About the world we live,
When I am sitting beneath you.

You show me the beauty of nature
Around me,
When I look at the blue sky
And the greenery around me.
When I am sitting beneath you.

You give me an opportunity
To see the beauty of youth
Who are passing me,
And admire their beauty
When I am sitting beneath you.

In my free time,
Wen I am alone,
You give me your shade
And protect me from the burning sun,
As a constant companion,
Who take care of me always,
When I am sitting beneath you.

Listen to me my dear friend.
Being a friend,
How many things
You have given me
And the way you have nourished my mind,
When I am sitting beneath you.

D. M. A. S. Dharmadasa

The Nightingale

The echo of her melodius voice trailed me to the river bank;
Mesmerized, I hastened my steps to glimpse the singing echo,
A bewitching village damsel while filling a pot with the waters of the river
was singing a lilting song which I have never heard before.
Lest she stop her melody if I confronted her, I hid myself and,
Listened to her song which enraptured my being.
She placed her pot at her hip and with a gait adorning her beauty,
Made a beeline to her shanty to quell her infant's cries.
Humming a lullaby which was equally enchanting, she lulled her baby to sleep.

Yasmin Jaldin

A Child's Despair

Mother you left me for greener pastures,
Promising me a luxurious life, leaving me to fend for myself.
Why did you leave me in the care of this Master and dame?
Even though I work hard for the duo,
She never appreciates, and reprimands me severely.
From morn to dusk my duties are galore and monotonous,
Running errands is upteen until my feet sore.

Mother you assured me that I could continue school;
But alas, my books and uniform are untraceable.
My only good Samaritan is the kind lady next door;
She understands my plight which soothes my ego.

The master does not give me any dinars you send me,
Instead, I see them enjoying to the brim.
If you do not save me from this miserability,
I accost you that you shall despair and never see me any more.

Yasmin Jaldin

A Blessing from Yashodarawatha

For the anonymous folk-poet(s) who authored Yashodarawatha
May everything in the jungle taste delicious (to you)!
May (your) retinue be escalated like bees around a flower!
May the beams in the sunlight abate!
May empyreal palaces be built league by league (for you)!

Translated by Jayashantha Jayawardhana

A red colour pulp

The only living beings
That love human beings
Both day and night are
The restless mosquitoes

So great is their affection
Every time they fondly play
On our healthy or feeble body
We feel needles being injected

But sadly for their deep love
When we try to kindly pat them
They become a red colour pulp
Such is their short life

Are we born here for it?
Or have they purposely born
To give us that kind prick?
To get our great love!

Nazly Cassim

Loneliness like no other

Loneliness like no other
I have felt
Has engulfed life
Quite so suddenly
And I wonder why
A bitter cold, bone piercing coldness
Loneliness like no other
That freezes the blood in pain

Bertholamuze Nisansala Dharmasena