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POETRY
Egypt - The land of heart break
Last evening I felt
I lost you... forever...
No, I don't want you to smile with me
Don't even look at me
I can live only with your memories
You know you are right
People like me, don't
deserve second chances
and no, I'm not asking for your pity
You can hate me
But I'll always keep you in my heart
Do I love you?
Do I even have to answer this question?
I guess you know the answer already
Actions speak louder than words
Just think about it...
How two absolute strangers
with very little in common and
very different views
can like each other?
But honestly you are one of the nicest people
I have met in my life
In the awful evening at the Nile River
watching you cry was the saddest moment
in my life...
No, I don't think I'll be able to forget you....
Even if I tried! Lol.....
Rehan
Under the bridge of Kallady
Kaladdy lagoon ...
A prawn catchers paradise,
Nature lovers delight,
Tourists dream flight,
To the east coast.
Few dared to go
Many, moons ago,
For fear of bullets
But a haven,
To wanderers
Weary and dreamy eyed.
As the half moon rose
And shone its mellow light
Lagoon waters rippled
Like black velvet
With tinges of orange.
Silhouetted against the sky
Was the long, strong Kallady bridge;
And prawn catchers in a boat,
Who threw their nets
In unison in to water
And waited.
Only the swish of the fish
Broke the dead silence.
On the bank
With abated breath
We too wailed
To catch the murmurs
Of the 'singing fish of Batti'.
Jayanthi Kaththriarachchi
The Call of Lanka
(with deep respect to Rev. W.S. Senior)
Come home! My sons and daughters
Far off in alien climes,
You fled in fear and anguish
To escape evil times.
Come back to me, my children
Come home to your motherland,
I need you all around me
To give me a helping hand.
The land of your birth cries out to you,
It's a cry from a mother's heart
To give new life to our country
We all must play our part.
So, lets hold hands together
As a loving family
To build a new Sri Lanka
Where all will be happy and free.
As we walk into the future
Passing mile on mile.
Let this Pearl of the Indian Ocean
Once more be our Paradise Isle
Sheila Goonewardene
Comeback and say Amma
Stilled my little son
A bundle dear and tender
Pardon me I beg you
Over and over again
In journey in samsara endless
Into the river
Your gentle frail body
In a swoon instant that dazed me
Unburden myself I hurled you
A victim of poverty
You and I
Think not I love you not
Sand dust and soil I inhale
To make up for
Paternal care denied
Day and night I toiled
With none to see my plight
Amma Amma
It rings and brings tears dreary
Screamed behind me in a flurry
Helpless you begged and cried
Seeking my warmth and comfort
Let me not hear it again
Being born my son again and again
I pay dearly for my wrong
Keep you huddled in my bosom forever
Comeback to me my dear and say
Amma Amma
E.M.G. Edirisinghe
Reality
Can a mother
Throw her baby
To the water?
The baby protected,
In her womb .......
For about ten months,
With love, care
Attention ......
Affection ......
And many expectations.
Even after birth,
Providing nourishment,
Turning blood into milk,
Through power of love.
And feeding the baby,
With the precious
The healthiest food,
That a mother can give
To a child
Without any expense.
But she did so.
The tiny little figure,
With bony limbs.
Floated on the torrent
Unconsciously.
Without any sympathy
Of the same mother.
But, the one,
Who saved the feeble creature,
Had love and kindness,
Than the mother
Who gave birth
To the innocent.
The world heard the news
The tragic, pathetic news.
And blamed the mother.
"How cruel is she?"
"Can a mother do so?"
Mother .......
The fountain of love!
The origin of compassion!
But the "reality" hidden,
Is more pathetic.
You know it, what .....?
Is the poverty
Which defeated,
The motherly love,
The endless love,
The noble love,
That one can have,
In this world.
D. M. A. S. Dharmadasa
Kandalama - a haven of peace
Years ago I had a dream
of a haven of peace
'Midst primeval forests
'Twist ancient granite rocks
Rising from a grey green plain,
Where elephants roamed
And gentle smabhur sauntered,
A brahmini kite reeled high up in the sky
While a friendly snake sipped water
From a lake, had his fill
And gently slithered away....
And the sound of silence
Filled my heart with peace.
Years passed
Till my footsteps brought me here
Beside the placid waters
Where clouds reflected their varied shapes,
Sited between two massive rocks,
One where a fugitive king hid from his foes
And another where a parricide
Built a fortress in the sky.
Here, midst jungle sounds
Bird's twitter in the early dawn
while cicadas cry at eventide
And the sun in all its glory
Sets behind the hills when day has ended.
Here, at Kandalama
Where gracious hospitality prevails
I found peace,
And my dream came true.
Lalitha K. Witanachchi
Running from the enemy
Trekking on my bicycle home to the village,
I observed the villagers running helter skelter;
I witnessed the pathetic sight of little children clinging
On to their parents all fleeing in haste.
What is the commotion I queried from the old man running with a suitcase
on his head;
Son, do not go to the village he said;
The enemy is touching our houses and
killing our kith and kin,
Run for your life he screamed.
It struck me! how can do that, I panicked;
Remembering my feeble father and
young sister still in the village.
It would be dastardly to leave them was my thought.
I lay motionless until the enemy truck passed by. Running into the
village in a frenzy,
I reached my abode which was ablaze,
In faltering words I called for my father and sister,
The echoing of my voice could only be heard;
Losing all hopes and hearing my cries, my neighbour who was running with
his
belongings said
they were safe,
I heaved a sigh of relief.
Yasmin Jaldin |
