Banana seller

“Banana - banana”,
Fresh and good.
It was her everyday song,
So, we said “banana seller is coming.”
Under the scorching sun,
With a heavy “kude”,
Full of bananas,
On her head,
She approached,
Our home.
“Nona, is your mother at home?”
“Will she buy bananas today?”
She asked, smilingly.
Days passed,
But she didn't come home,
Not even to the others.
Doors and windows of her home,
All shut.
No sign of her,
“What happened to her?”
“Where is she.”
I asked her neighbour.
“Don't know,
maybe gone somewhere.”
Two, three years later,
When I came to the village,
I went to her place,
Where she was.
No sign of a house there...
Not even a brick,
Thick long thorny bushes,
Had covered all her land instead.

Ashi Liyanaarachchi.

Strange life

Birds go to school,
And fish play volleyball,
Elephants dance,
Oh! it's a wonder.
Trees walk around the yard,
And flowers working hard,
Cups are dancing,
Chairs clap to the tune.
Oh! it's a strange wonder,
Funny, funny works.

Thakshila Oshadi,
Grade 8C,
Girls' High School,
Kandy.

Happiness

I don't understand “What happiness is?”
Is it the money people cherish?
Or is it the way people live?
Or eat until their tummy is full?
Some say, “It's hiking,”
While others say, “It's fighting.”
Some say, “Happiness is everything,”
While others say, “It's not worth a thing.”
After asking thousands of people,
I've got the idea how could I miss,
Now don't you laugh or choke,
Happiness is such a joke.

Janani Peiris,
Grade 7F,
Visakha Vidyalaya,
Colombo 4.

A little boy

I saw a little boy,
Sitting on a bench,
Waiting for a penny,
To fill his tummy.
Between the two trees,
Near the lake,
I met him again,
Dead as a lion's prey.

Asma Paleel,
Grade 7G,
UNH International School,
Wattala.

Crow

I see a crow,
Black, black, black,
Whole body is black.
Who gave this black colour?
Where's my crow?
Come, come,
To my garden,
Sing, croak, croak, croak,
I love my crow.

Mahele Galwadugoda,
Grade 3,
Ethagama Amarasekara School Joint Velapura Navodya School, Kalutara.