Yet... not...

Let it bloom
Never as before
Let it feel
Never as before
Let it last forever
Never as before
But. Not.
Spoken... Santhushti Ekanayake This is a poignant poem on love. For the poet it is a sacred feeling which may blossom in secrecy in the heart rather than speaking about it. The poet wishes that the love may 'blossom' and 'last forever' yet not speak about it. Here the poet in a few lines encapsulate a profound idea on love. The lines are short but effective - Indeewara

Laughed at!

Reading maketh perfection
they think, they say,
they pretend, they act-
But the world full of lies
hurt and laugh
at the picture of 'Mahathma'
hung on my wall. R. Niwanthi Weerathunga

The poet expounds on the application of the saying reading maketh perfection. However, the world is full of lies, hurt as if to laugh at the portrait of Mahathma Gandhi who is an apostle of peace, truth and non-violence. The poem reflects the disenchantment of the part of the masses on the state of affairs which often goes contrary to the philosophical expositions on life albeit for a short spell of time. - Indeewara

Cessation of smoking

What joy, what fun is there you bloke,
In a puff of tobacco smoke!

The disguised monster keeps inflicting
Harrowing pain and endless suffering

Over hundred million deaths in the century gone
A thousand million in the century born

Time is ripe to stop the deadly puff
To say we can't is mere bluff Dr. S. Terrence G. R. de Silva Deputy Director General (Medical Services) Ministry of Healthcare & Nutrition.

Mission incomplete ...

Mission started by looking for,
A good hospital,
Then a good school, best food, toys,
And much more ....
Still mission incomplete....,
Now launched "Mission Impossible ",
Searching for a life companion,
Who will matches their one....
Will they be able to ....?
Catch the action, on your favourite channel,
"Journey of Life"... W.K.S Inoka Weerasuriya

In this poem, the poet skilfully portrays a common struggle of the middle class and upper middle class families in Sri Lanka. Most of the parents aspire to make their children doctors, engineer or lawyers and recently software engineers. The mission commences with searching a 'good' hospital for the delivery of the child. Some parents prefer private hospitals and nursing homes to fully-fledged government hospitals for the delivery. Then even before the child was born, they create fictitious addresses near the prospective school, on some occasions, going to the extent of paying electricity and other utility bills to prove their residence. However, the mission would not end there. As aptly described, then the parents embark on a mission impossible in choosing a life partner for the child which may ruin the life of the child. The poet effectively describes this tragic situation in Sri Lanka which lacks social security schemes. The poet uses simple diction to drive home the message. -Indeewara Thilakarathne