Killing my conscience!

Cover thine self, the tender eye,
Nothing evil thou can see;
The turn of friend, the act of foe
Cover thine self, let evil be.

Block thine self, ears, let silence be,
No moans of pain thou should hear;
The cries of sorrow, howls of hurt,
Block thine self, long live fear.

Bind thine self, formidable tongue
Uttering good is not for thee;
No kind words, no sighs of love
Bind thine self, let lies roam free.

Still thine self, justful feet,
Save thine self alone in the gale;
The depressed soul, trodden upon
Still thine self, let unjust prevail.

Hark! The bells call me there,
To bid farewell to my heart, once dear;
The time has come to put on the dress,
Drenched in blood, soaked in tears.

The killing was done in self-defense,
The society embraces with hand now wide;
"You stab me in the hope to love
And may you live", my conscience sighed.

Minoli Wijetunga

The Letter

Not one with all miracles
And jewels and thrones,
And crowns and weapons and Vedas and retinue,
That could turn fire into flowers,
But that could come home with a smile,
That could sit and listen for a while,
And not watching T.V. till I finish cooking,
And not reading while I am washing
And not walking away while I am talking
But one that can tell me what is happening
One that asks what would happen.
And not one with that mighty courage to beat me
Or with that power of thundering words,
Or with lightning like gazes
But a one with a mind to correct me,
One with a kind word,
A loving heart,
And not one whose responsibility
Is to break pots and plates,
And not one who gets impatient for salt matters.
The God in my imagination,
Would be you but if you could still love me,
Like the boy in seventeen
And wait for me.

Menaka Kalupahana

The choice

Day and night he painstakingly weaved,
To and fro...
And out of what seemed a random exercise,
Emerged a patterned web,
"Home sweet home" I thought he said,
As he settled in the midst of his web.
Taking care not to disturb his domain
I got accustomed to his gaze from the ceiling.
This silent friend kept me company
When none other was there to fend.

While in bed (gazing up), I used to wonder how he survived?
A disturbing sound in the peace of the night,
Lights on, a moth trapped in the web,
Beautiful, yet in agonising pain.
In an instant (broom in hand), I approached the web.
Intending to free the moth from its state.
Yet my thoughts had a hold over my actions,
I could have taken providence into my hand,
And given life back to the one caught.
Yet, who am I to deprive the master of his food?
Food justly caught by its own design?
The spider, taking advantage of my distraction,
Had a hearty dinner.
It troubles me even today,
Did I do the right thing?

Krishanthi Anandawansa

Afterwards

After my heart had stopped racing,
And the trembling had ceased,
Now that my world was not spinning around,
And my breathing had eased.
I grapple with my senses, gathering my wits,
Reality sinking in,
It was heaven while it lasted,
A pleasure divine.
But happiness never meant to be mine,
Back on terra firma,
I look to the skies,
Praying for sanity evermore,
Oh! Please let me never,
Be tempted again to savour,
Those luscious mangoes,
From the garden next door,

Malini Epa

Save the world

The very air we breathe,
And the sparkling waters that seep,
Through the forests dark and deep,
Are not ours to keep?

It is my duty to tell,
That what we do not own we cannot sell,
So, why do these people fell,
The wonderful trees and make paradise hell?

The South Asian monsoon,
Will be out before soon,
With the Mediterranean mild,
And the bright African wild.

The elephant, the tiger,
Are ceasing to exist,
But careful my man,
For you're next in list.

Savithru Jayasinghe