The flying day

It's the dawn of the flying day
I've waited till my wings grow strong, patiently,
Like an army, waiting for the final command.

I'm tired of being the good little bird,
Obeying and never talking back,
Maybe because, I knew,

What I had to say was so absurd,
So different.

I close my eyes at the mouth of the nest,
I feel the wind on my face,
Beckoning me,
To fly to the unknown.

Hey, I've saved up all my mischief,
It's time to break free...

N. S. Piyarathne

Mask

I met him, once a pupil of mine,
Now a grown up of twenty may be,
One morning while travelling.

I greeted him so did he in return,
Then enquired I who over seventy,
For mere courtesy, "how are you.....?"

"I'm now a manager with duties many,
In a prestigious company."
He did utter in a dominant air.

Oh! I am happy, I am really happy,
To see you in a higher post,
My congrats, please accept."
I, so released my warm feeling.

Later in the day in an office,
I witnessed him, shunned face,
Doing duties, a peon's routine,
Tried not I into the scene.

Alas! not him now I see;
Grief overwhelms me......?

P.N.P. Deraniyagala

For my granddaughters

To cheer me when I'm weary
To lift me when I'm down
To turn thorns into roses
And weave them to a crown
To give me a goal for living
To love me like you do
I thank my God for knowing
And giving me both of you

Doreen Peiris

Tug of war

We travel at great speed, Siren Wailing - lights on,
All vehicles giving way.
"Somebody seriously sick" you will think so,
The picture will erase from your memory,
As fast as the speed of the ambulance.

But, have you ever noticed the battle within?
The doctor, nurse, attendant and driver,
We all struggle as one,
To keep safe a life that is on the verge,
Of bidding farewell.

We do our best to avoid,
Children losing a beloved parent or vice versa.
Someone being a widow or a widower,
Or losing their breadwinner.
All resulting in a family being shattered.

Yes - Inside the ambulance
We participate in a tug of war,
Between life and dark robes of death
A very tough game of course.

At times our hopes and efforts are abandoned,
Giving way to the "Dark Cloud"
Sometimes we win
Brimming the hearts of their loved ones
With sighs of relief !!

Neela Vithanage

The cycle of life

The sun rises and sets,
And hurries back to where it rises.

The wind blows to the South,
And runs to the North,
Ever returning in its duly course.

All streams flow to the sea,
Yet the sea is never full,
So is life and so it will be,
People live and people die,
Yet the earth exists,
Ignorant of the pain and conflicts within,
Do we bother about the past?
About who lived and who did not?
So will we be...forgotten by the generations yet to come,
Only our breaths will remain in the world...
Life continues.

What has been will be again,
What has been done will be done again.
This is the cycle of life.

Krishanthi Anandawansa

To my mother

I am lonely and woeful throughout night and day,
Since my beloved mother did pass away,
For a glimpse of thine, a fortune I would pay!
Can somebody tell me? an unerring way!

We the five kids, you adored and breast-fed,
Were destined to see, you were "nasal fed"
I couldn't bear the feeling that you suffered a lot,
Thinking of it, both my eyes spurt wet.

For two scores or so, you served as a teacher,
With scores of students been moulded like a preacher,
You a devout Buddhist, have acquired much merits,
Which bestow you loving care, among the divine spirits.

Honesty, courage and the quality of fairness,
Inherited I from thou, which guide me like a barness,
 the blessing upon me, you so lavished,
Whatever I do, I would never be perished.

The sweat and tears you shed, up-lifting our family,
Are reminisced and adored, by us all, eternally,
My only wish, I will repeat like a manthra,
You be my mother, right through the "Samsara."

W.P. Somawardana