I want to be all that..but..
I want to be the soil
Which gives life to a small sapling....
I want to be the sky
Which lets a shiny star sparkle.......

I want to be the plant
Which lets a beautiful flower bloom........

But,
I don't want to be the tear
Which lets you think
that you are alone........

Virani Ekanayake

The one who gave me life
Before twenty four years,
At the very first time you touched me,
I was crying,
But you were smiling, giving your love.
Before twenty four years,
At the very first time I felt hungery,
I was crying,
But you were smiling, giving your breasts to alleviate my hunger
Before nineteen years,
At the very first time I went to school,
I was crying,
But you were smiling, wiping my tears.
Before three years,
At the very first time I dressed as a bride,
I was crying,
But you were smiling, yet crying.
Before a year,
At the very first time I was delivering my child,
I was crying,
But you were smiling, bearing the pride of being a grandmother for the very first time

K.J. Thilini Maleesha, Sacred Heart Convent, Galle.

Another unknown child...

Dark dimmed eyes, yearning for love
Pleading for comfort from people around
Sun-burned hands, shivering, but still
his heart is strong to strive for life...
Missed warmth of dear parents
tears rolling down, his cheeks are wet
Not matuered enough to realize the truth
That bitter truth, he is an orphan
No father no mother, no guardian at least
Though his weeping heart loves to play and sing
With neither any toy nor friend at all
Except his broken tins, dusty sand
Dreams of school, while floating as a cloud
Shading away a little by little
But, by and by poor child smiles
With the empty sky, with the world
Blames in turn, frowning faces, but....
Still this unknown child impatient,
to see a human with humane heart

Kushani D. Jayasuriya, St. Paul's Girls' School, Milagiriya.

Writing about yourself

Personal therapy

Poetry can be excellent therapy. It allows you to process the events in your life, both good and bad.

Some people shy away from writing personal poems because they either don't think their life is important enough to write about or because they fear opening up those emotions and rehashing painful moments in their lives. Writing about yourself and the things that happen to you can be difficult.

Processing events

Learn to process the events in your life with poetry. You don't have to start with the most painful events in your life. The problem with writing about major traumas is that is so difficult to capture them in words.

When something horrible happens to you, words often seem inadequate. You can save writing about those events for when you are feeling particularly brave and strong. Start small. Start with the little stresses and minor conflicts that make up most days. Many times, it is the smaller moments in our lives, not the larger ones, which are the most telling and interesting.

You are a character

One of the keys to writing about the events in your life is to accept yourself as a character. When you are writing about yourself, you are essentially writing a persona poem, and the persona is you.

A person reading your poem is going to be viewing you as a character in the poem. They may understand that you are writing about yourself, but they will still be viewing you as a character that they are trying to interpret and connect with.

First or third

Some people find it helpful to write about themselves in the third person. Using this technique they move even further toward viewing themselves as a character.

This technique allows them to step outside of themselves and view the events in a more detached way. Some people are comfortable with that process, while others prefer to stay in the first person. I, for one, like to stay in the first person.

Honesty as policy

Some people wonder how honest you have to be when writing about yourself and your life. They fear that if they veer from the exact events, that they will be lying. This depends on your point of view.

You might try to be as truthful as possible in your poems, but the problem with being utterly truthful is that you may not be comfortable letting other people read your poetry, especially those who might be involved in the events.

One of my friends once told "in reviewing my old poems the other day, I came across one that I know would be very hurtful to a friend if I released it, so I left it sitting on my hard drive, unread by the world.

I could fictionalize it a little more but in the end I would rather keep it private and let it be true than change so I could publish it." There is no doubt that writing about yourself comes with a certain degree of personal risk, but I believe the reward is worth the risk. Not only do you get to process the events of your life, but with luck you get an interesting character to write about.

Smiling is easier

A smile is such a simple way
Of keeping spirits glad.
Why undertake the troubled task
Of being blue and sad?
Our tears are never welcomed
And a look of heavy gloom,
Is bound to frighten folks
Like some impending doom
But happiness is catching
And a bit of kindly cheer
Will bring us so much closer
In a friendly atmosphere
And it will always help to lessen
The burden we shoulder
And overcome the weariness
Of everyday life
There is no valid reason
For our fears to let us down,
When smiling is much easier,
Than fostering a frown.

Bernadette Peiris, Moratuwa.

In an eternal search
Stars started twinkling,
Bells started ringing
When you walked
Right into my life.
Your smiles
Lit the unlit candles,
Like a prayer from heaven
You purified my soul
As Eve in Adam,
I've grown in you.
You are the miracle,
That turned true.
You bestowed me,
The ecstasies
That I've read in tales.
You created a princess,
Out of a mere girl.
You are like a poem,
In its best rhyme.
Like a symphony,
In its best blend.
In this endless, eternal search
I am so glad to have found you,
And wanted to 'Thank you'
For letting me rest in your soul.....

Amali Anupama Mallawaarachchi

Try
Try and try
Double try
One day you can fly
With that guy
Like a butterfly
The heart may ask why
Are you going to die?
You will say
Do not tell a lie
Looking at the sky
You will enjoy
Reminiscing of the try
If you thought to lie
Throughout the life with the guy
When he will fly
Away from the eye
But one day
You will have to cry
You will have to be shy
Because of your try

P.G.A. Prasanna, Galle.

Be with me

My dear friend,
If you are not with me:
I'll be a flower without petals,
I'll be a bird without wings,
I'll be a child without mother,
I'll be a tree without fruits,
So, be with me,
My life will have no importance
If you are not with me.

Ishana Manoj