Unborn poems

They linger over on new born rainbows,
hover around the windows
in the early morning hours.
They float on the river
when the moon smiles
on full moon days.
When the birds sing
outside my window
they bring a melody
of an unborn rhythm.
When the spring flowers are born
they paint images of an unborn verse.
When I look at the darkness
in the middle of the night
they come one by one.
On dark night as I breathe
Like a child scared of darkness
They tell me stories
Until I sleep. Sunil Govinnage

For a poet, poetry is omnipresent and is everywhere; over the blue sky, upon the unruly waves, hovering around the window, in the freshly blossomed spring flowers, on serene full moon days. One becomes a poet or a creative writer not because of his or her having a third eye on the forehead but because of this keen sensibility and ultra receptivity to even minute changes in the environment. For the poet, unborn poems are concealed everywhere. Even in the middle of the desolate night, by looking into the gathering darkness, unborn poems are born. Perhaps the couple of lines in the last stanza are striking; poet walks back into the past and revisits his childhood where parents would have telling him bed-time stories as he scared of darkness then. - Indeewara Thilakarathne

The mistress

I know that she knows,
I know that she cares,
I know that she suffers,
I know that she feels bitter;
She knows that I lurk behind her like a phantom,
She knows that I play with her emotions,
She knows that I incessantly steal her happiness,
She certainly knows that I am the front runner;

But,

I know that I do not love or compromise the way she does,
I know that I am just a diversion to inflate the male self-esteem,
I know I will never be there when I am really needed,
I know I will flee at the first smell of trouble;

While,

She will be there when it rains and when the sun shines,
She will be there to fulfill all your dreams,
She will be there to brave all the stormy weathers,
And she will treat you like a king even when you are penniless. Inoka Makalanda

The poem eloquently describes the subtle role that 'mistress' plays in lover's life. The wife will always be after her. However, wife will not yield unto the demands of the man, perhaps, when he wanted it most. Mistress is one who is obliged to the lover and be with him even when he is penniless. The poet uses a simple diction and almost directly drives home the message yet in a memorable manner. - Indeewara

Childhood memories

Warm affections and kind caring
Soft spoken words of sincere love
Prayer and worship, guidance, advice
Came from home as garland throughout
Piano music of Mom lively tuned to
Treasured nurseries and golden oldies
Tiny tots and elders rhymed
"Jack and Jill went up the hill"
"All day all night Maryann"
Singing, dancing, cheering and clapping
Petted and admired joy overflown
School came next
Education was best
Theories in books but
Highlighted practical
Though ruled and monitored
By teacher and nuns
Value of disciplines
Were blessings of success
Innocent Childhood thoughts
Flew in mind
Reflects as a mirror
From time to time
Sparkling high shining bright
Spreads afar
Childhood memories never fades away Lakshmi Peiris

The poet vividly recollects the fond memories of a childhood which was filled with fun and frolic. The milieu in which the poet spent her childhood has changed into one with extremely busy life where children have little or no time left to enjoy childhood. It was a time when the education was in the hand of caring but disciplinarian nuns with peerless commitment to the welfare of the children. In retrospective, childhood memories enrich emotional life of a now grown up poet who perhaps, spending the evening of his life. What is significant in the poem is that apart from the poet's experience of childhood being an individual experience, it also marks an era gone by. Indeewara