Anglers

Seated upon the coarse culvert,
Overlooking the fishy shallows,
They angled their fishing rods,
Through the muddied water,
Vigilant like kingfishers.

On our way back home from school,
We stopped to watch them,
At a safe distance.

The shaved coconut shell,
Half-filled with worms,
Lay by their side,
Within easy reach,
Of each fisher.

Out of curiosity,
We tiptoed closer to the culvert.

The catch, the immobile dead,
The trembling half-dead,
Fascinated our childish eyes.

What a cruel delight!

Yet, we knew it was a sin to fish,
And all sinners should suffer in hell for that.

But we never knew why they,
Always chased us away,
Just as soon as they had sighted us,
Or smelt our presence.

Jayashantha Jayawardhana

The poem is about the fishing scene in a village. Two fishermen on a Calvert angle their fishing rods into the waterway. Children passing by enjoy the scene as the dying fish struggled for life. The narrator is one of the children who enjoyed fishing realised later that it was a sin and that sinners should suffer in hell. However, the narrator could not understand why the children were always chased away by the fishermen. The poet has used a simple diction and metaphors out of the village milieu.

A Wish to live

Gloomy night, oh! gloomy night
Don't leave me in the dark
Please show a little light
So I could have a hope for life

Greatest sun, oh! greatest sun
Don't burn me with your rays
Please don't be harsh on me
I'm so weak in my heart

Mighty wind oh! mighty wind
Don't blow fast please do try
Or I won't last
To see the sun rise

Dear rain oh! dear rain
Please be kind
Don't fall hard down on me
I'm too small I'll shiver to death

As I fight the way through
Please see it the way I do
I'm just a sparrow who wishes to live
Just another day or two

Kanchana Joseph

The poem is about a sparrow's plea for nature. The narrator pleads for the gloomy night to spare a little light for him and the sun not to be harsh and the wind not to blow fast so that he can live another day. It is a humble plea of a sparrow. The poem is noted for its sheer power of imagination.

Contentment

Stretch not for what cannot reach
Yearn not for what one cannot keep

Aim high but not as far as the sky
Think not it's better to do or die
Anger, jealousy, hatred one must delete
Instead with love, compassion replete

Life is short the seeds one sows
Are the ones that are reaped as life goes
With one's lot be content

Not crave and grieve and then repent
Waste not want not bear in mind
For what is lot is hard to find

Stint not the needy one must assist
Spontaneously do not resist

Vaunt not for what one does possess
To other it offers no solace,

Act with caution do what's right
Be it morning noon or night

Use one's wisdom bear in mind
To set an example to mankind

Indra Guneratne

Though sounds a formula for contentment at times, this narrative poem conveys a philosophy of life which ensures contentment. It is clear that contentment is something which one may not be able to achieve through material possessions or worldly gains such as power and position. One would reap what one sows earlier on in life and in essence the poet reaffirms the old adage: 'life is what you make".

Loving daughter

On the day you stepped into our life,
Our hearts filled with joy.
You are like a daffodil bloomed in the spring.
Your fragrance adorned the beauty of our life.
Your rose lips remind us a rose bud.
When I touched your fingers,
You held my hand to begin a life long journey.
Day by day you grew up,
As the crescent becomes the full moon.
Your gentle voice gives us a great relief.
Your blooming smile helps us to forget our tiresome life.

Dear Buwanajee...
You are like the tender Sun.
You light the family sky at the dawn.
You are like the silver moon.
You overcome thousands of glimmering stars in your world of childhood.
You are like a nightingale.
You sing enchanted melodies through our life.
You are so close to us like
The mild waves embrace the shore.
You are the companion in our life evermore.

W.M. Sumithra Weerasekara

In this narrative poem, the poet expresses her sentiments at the birth of her daughter and thereafter, how she makes her life happy. The poet compares the new-born daughter to a rose which grows up spreading its fragrance throughout the weary life of the parents. The poem is noted for its genuine sentiments.

Colombo in pain

Colombo a fifteen zone star, some say a limping jumbo
Your heritage spreadsheet, I browse in pain and sorrow

In hegemony craze, the P'ies and D' ies mains locked horns for ding-dong games
Where trade and flag triggered for colonial domain

Grooming a network of waterways, D'ies brainy plan for quick gain
Empire beefy posing and boasting, but waned when canned by cane

Hang the past, the garbage still hilly, waterways
cloggy paving in smithereens

Sad! the hapless beings in rows shabby, numerous
as sand longing for better dwellings

watch! the dummy lots/ let loose on ways crunching ,
munching tasty tibits a plight glaring

Maintenance scanty, ways and drains brimful, swelling even on a spell of pouring

Vehicles belching, front line snailing a woeful morning pain
Hush! Cough out that greasy muck for a jiffy do-do gain

Hosanna! To White House fathers big and ugly now in pain in limbo
Watch the hilarious circus of circus free at railway precinct a neurosis demo

Love, peace and happiness to all my seashore parasol dolls
What matters is not the praying eyes, your happiness most of all

H.L.D.E Perera

In this long narrative poem, the poet vividly recollects the past of the city of Colombo with intense pain. What the poet observes is the gradual decline of the city in its stature. The drainage system has not been maintained and the flash floods have become a frequent occurrence. The poem is noted for the use of apt metaphors.

Bliss on earth

Moon shines
Through the trees
Walk in the garden
Bliss on earth

Bertholamuze Nisansala Dharmasena

In this short poem, the poet tries to recreate the sublime beauty and the calmness in a moonlit night. The poet walks in the garden in a bright night when the moon light filters through the trees and enjoys the beauty of the atmosphere. It is indeed bliss. The poem is noted for its brevity.

Everrything

Don't ever suppose
Such a passionate guy he!!
When he asked you
To kiss and osculate....

Don't ever think
How to offer your life to him!!
While he kisses and embraces ....

Don't ever get dilemma
even now look into him!!
While you on his chest
and loving..
There are so many colours you will find....

He has nothing but you!!!!

Isuru Abeysekara

Everything in the poem is about love and lovers. The narrator tells the girl to look at the boy while he kisses and embraces her. The girl may find diverse colours but the boy would only look at her.