A Golden Saying

The Rap Songs of Shop Audios
And the Amplifiers of Lottery Sellers
The Musical Horn of the Ice-Cream Cart
And many thousands of tooting Horns
At last but not the least noise of the Kotthu
A crash of thunder
Much more than 200 Decibel
Being to the City
Is worse than to be in a Blacksmiths Shed
Once again it reminiscences to us
'Silence is Golden'

Tiny Sahabandu

In this poem, the poem skilfully depicts the sor did realities of the city which is polluted. Though most of us take sound pollution or have no notion of it, sound pollution has become a reality in the city. The busy streets are filled up with noise of rap songs played in shops and tooting of horns. The metal dashing noise of Kottu making will add spices to the cacophony. The poet uses down-to-earth language and everyday metaphors to convey the idea.

In for life

The Thambili tree caught fire
in the settings un,
Orange globes of fruit
now glinting gold.
Having supped their last, the
cawing crows went homing,
Screeching Babblers scattered
down below.
Bright little bullets of green
came the parrots, shrieking,
in arcs across the rose-flushed evening sky.
Now gobbling rice from
the thattu by our gate,
Now wheeling from tree to tree
With their urgent cries.
I could hear four voices now -
One chuckling - "kek, kek, kek!"
As though at some delicious secret joke.
Whistling loud, melodious came the second
then another -
conversational, cajoling
"Peththo- o,- Peththobath kaewai? Peththo-o"?
And shrieking- plainly shrieking came the fourth.
That was the poor little prisoner's repertoire,
Fondly heard by the folk who kept him there
as their amusing, splendid ,Plum-Headed Parakeet,
Shuffling a long his pole on calloused feet.
In his wire-mesh prison, he now
Shrieked in despair,
As fellow-parakeets wheeled and dived, up in the air
and flew back to the coconut trees and their
little lairs.
The humans thought he "talked", and" talking" was his folly,
They thought he smiled , with his handsome rose-red beak.
while all the while he would wonder WHY -
Why HE could not fly outside,
His smile belied the pain he felt inside.
Instincts coiled within, he ached, he flapped
Shuddering to be free, to mate, to nest.
His very birth right to him thus denied,
Shriek for shriek, his brethren he replied.

- Sakuntala Sachithanandan

In this narrative poem, the poet describes cruelty to animals through an episode of parrot's life. The poet skilfully depicts the plight of the parrot which is caged. In the concluding lines, the poet sums up the plight as the parrot could not understand "Why HE could not fly outside". Though in simple lines, the poet conveys a profound message that animals should not be caged and be allowed to roam freely.

We all are equal...

Full of flowers
With their hands
With full of laugh

No matter,

Whether they are

Sons or daughters

No matter,
Though they are Muslims
We are Sinhalese

But,
They were plucking
Full of flowers
With their hands
With full of devotion

Not for them,
But for us
For our "Bodhi Pooja"

No matter,
Whether they are
Sons or daughters

How we think it's differ
We all are Sri Lankans...

Rohini Ekanayake

The poem though on a profound note of harmony, is written in a simple diction. The poet compares people of diverse ethnicities, colours and races to flowers one pluck as offerings to the Boo tree. What the poet tries to convey is that the sheer diversity will, in fact, make the array of flowers extremely beautiful rather than offering one homogeneous variety of flowers.

Ode to Hambantota

Oh Hambantota my lover is thee
Such Sweet land of Curd and honey
So dry yet wet see sunsets long
Where duck flowers dance never ending song

Where salt lakes of Rose, finds Flamingoes still
And elephants roam free,..at whim or will
While seagull stork and King fisher bye
Host friends of distant lands and ducks will fly
And birds of every hue outnumber men

Etemal? Peacock's dance and monkey's play
midst buffaloes grunt and crocodiles lay
When sunset bids deer to roam
And sleepy people in red dust home,
To cadjan huts and soft lamp light
Where breeze scares green fields of rice
and scent of Palu tease nose and mouth
and Pera Cactus oh so stout
are thorny sentinels in such drought,

This dry and parching land
While golden blossom dance and Margosa sways
To long lost passions and dreamlike days
Love past, love lost, must love
Banshee winds and darkened nights,
Send giant waves so wild
to worship dunes too high
When lonely voices and faraway cries
Haunting whispers and ancient eyes
make thoile drums seek kali Amma

Where full moon rises over jewel seas
And Saraswathi dances with sensuous ease

Minarets, white domes and heads bowed down
See Call to Prayer five times a day
Wailing sound above the wind to Allah hail

Before catamaran set sail
White capped men from eastern land
sit cross legged eating salt and sand
while kerosene lights.... boats in midnight seas
and lonesome light house now no more
once safely guided Men of Yore

They set sail once more
Amidst bay and multi boats cover ocean blue
I see sailors now in lines too straight
flock now in light of dawn,... So true..
They fought the War and faced the Wave
Spirit of titans both bold and brave
Now new and snakelike roads make way
To Murugan's lair, and mystical play
And Men outnumber birds they say
Faces brown, yellow, black and white
Gaily laughing with mirth and might

Large and small they will come to halt,
At Hambantot's port of call
Bright flags of distant lands I see
All merge in schincronicity
This bustle of life so rich. . . .. .. will come once
more

To this our ancient shore
And in a while giant silver birds... will fly the air
follow tails of mist and men that dare
In one with Krishna's chariot blue
Aliens once more from a star so true
A step in time in Vishnu's eye,
A wheel never ending,..Eternal karma, ever dies

- Pierangeli Andrado

In this long narrative poem, the poet describes vividly the rich life in Hambantota. In the first couple of stanzas, the poet portrays the natural beauty of the land and describes the cultural and religious diversity which makes Hambantota more and more attractive. Then the poet narrates the changes that would make to the life in Hambantota with the rapid developments; construction of seaport, airport and networks of roads.

Glancing at...

Glancing at the blue sky
Through the poles of window
Always I remember your face
Brings a tear to my eye
YOU ARE NO MORE............

Walking along the grassy path
I imagine you are holding my hand
Making my world a fantasy
Brings a tear to my eye
YOU ARE NO MORE.........

Early in the morning
With a smile on your face
You say 'Good morning'
Brings a tear to my eye
YOU ARE NO MORE.....

Cloudy waves of Mahaweliya
Misty hills of Hanthana
Carries memories of you
Wherever I go
Brings a tear to my eye
YOU ARE NO MORE................

Kumudu Kopiyawatta

The poem is for a departed love. The girl, who is deeply in love with the departed soul, associates her memories with nature; the river Mahaweli and Hantana. Every morning she remembers her departed lover. The poet uses down-to-earth language to express her profound grief.

Remembrance

Through the somber gates,
to the silent world
we walked.........walked.
Through the narrow footpaths,
Looking left, right, here and there,
at moss covered granite tones,
epitaphs hardly visible
which once had lustre and appeal,
to stop dead in our tracks
at a smiling face
on a mirror surface,
a dear friend,
We worked together
in a bygone day.
On turning round
And further up
Another familiar name
Chilled us to the bone
a kindred spirit,
taken away
so young.
Through the haze of tombstones
we found our way
to the one we sought,
spread white flowers lit candles
and stood still and silent
in REMEMBRANCE.

Jayanthi Kaththriarachchi

In this poem, the poet expresses her deep sorrow at the demise of a friend. The feelings of intense grief are conveyed skilfully through lines such as "Through the haze of tombstones". The poet has able to re- create the somber and melancholic atmosphere in a graveyard. The poem is noted for its use of metaphors and sharp lines.

Monument to Gods

The monument so tall
Face up to the sky
And speaks to the gods
Once at the batt1e-field
Now live in heaven

So many thousands
They left us and gone
Leaving their names
Carved on a cold wall of stone
Once they were the legends
and our living gods

Though the monument is
So sti1l and cold
At sight it pours flood of tears
And tears our hearts

We borrowed our lives
From your's
Never be able to re-pay
At the wake of each day
Till we live
We beg you to forgive us
From dusk to dawn
We pray 'may you all attain Nibbana'
and wind up this life in Samsara!

Tiny Sahabandu

The poet expresses profound gratitude to brave soldiers who made supreme sacrifice for the unity and territorial integrity of the motherland. The poet is in no uncertain terms that nation is ever indebted to fallen heroes who won the peace for all. The poem is noted for its genuine sentiments and sharp and short lines.

The Bazaar

Words are like hard storms
Hawkers are netting their preys
Peeping wheels and cycles roam
Mongers make the people craze.

A cancer victim begs for life
The tea pot wanders on a motor bike
Soft and rough food both alike
A songstress sings without a mike.

Beggars are lying with painful face
Bargain, bargain the price list race
No more vacant single pace
Gimcracks "hold all the ace."

"Canopy"s made with polythene reels
Make their grocery and have the deals
Amidst the rush some purse steals
If get caught may get good "meals".

Vegetable, food, fish all are fresh
After the noon there is no rush
"Goods sold out" all faces are posh
But buyers faces look to be hush.

- Jayasiri Perera

The poet portrays a scene in a busy bazaar where goods are sold by the power of words. The poet says that 'the words are like hard storms'. The poet skilfully re-creates the atmosphere of a bazaar and the scene peopled by hawkers, vendors and at the end of the day, buyers, faces looked harsh. The poet uses a simple diction to re-create the scene in a busy bazaar.