Nature
Grapes that in gardens grow,
Are green and juicy and fine,
But sweeter ones, as the woodmen know,
Are plenty in the jungle vine
 Flowers that round balconies grow,
Are red, pink and emerald dyed,
But prettier ones replete with fragrance,
Bloom in the bushes wild
Children that in cities born,
Are pretty like Japanese dolls
But prettier, cleverer, far intelligent
Emerge from village remote
Recent tournaments as we know
Have chosen the talented ones
Most of them are village born
A few from the city or town
P. Nanayakkara
How can we ever forget you?
When all the world was happy and still
Just a while ago.
The day as beautiful as the rainbow
Turned suddenly as bitter as gall
A telephone call shook all of us
And made giant tears fall
 The garden full of the sound of tools
Is now as silent as the grave
The voice as gentle as a dove
Is distant now from far above
Two years, and nine decades,
Four generations you cradled
Yet why do you leave us so shock-struck
having lived a life so perfect and right?
White sarong and T-shirt clad
You'd roast a chicken and bring polos
On your own from the shop
Even when so sick and weak
How can we ever forget you now?
Not when we hear old songs you sang
Not when we dream of your smiling face
So strong, so nice, so loving and kind!
As a layer of cloud blots starlight
Through which you were with us from heaven
Calling to us, "darling, be good,
Come and join me her above"
Black hair through white, you possessed
Even on your deathbed that night'
How can I ever forget you now?
I love you 'Sudu Aththa' I really do!
Udari Mohotti
A glimmer of hope
It's after nineteen years
That I take this hasty ride
On one cold night
To the mystique lands in Hills.
 A wondrous thought struck me
To make a sudden visit
And feel the beauty
So blessed and divine....
When thousands are in deep slumber
The train silently glides
Not forgetting its naughty jerks
Keeping me awake
And not to satisfy
Even with a cat-nap.
Through the window
Nothing pleases my eyes
But total darkness outside
The pruned tea bushes
The meadows like green carpets
The misty mountains
And tall pine trees
Flash through my mind.
It's neither a moon-lit nor a starry night
But the still night air
leaving me in freezing cold
Invites to pen my thoughts
In this long hours of train ride.
Oh, is it in vain, my sole wish
of this hasty ride?
No, I think not so
For the dawn follows soon
Bringing me a glimmer of hope
That I've been longing
For years and years....
Harshi Wijesinghe
Masked devils
Thrown out of hell's mouth
As hell couldn't stand them
More perfect devils
Than even Lucifer and Satan
Even they so horrified and dumbfound!
God Yama, Lord of hell
Fearing threats to his sovereignty
Cast them out of hell
No mother's womb bore them.
Creating a hell no earth
No human hand, nay no good
Could mould so finely their masks
So human looking,
Smiles so angelic, smooth, gracious
Weaving super-fine webs of deceit
Prospects of peace, what nonsense
In Norway conferred with other devils
of their kind in Europe
Planned and organised by that
Exquisitely moulded white masked devil
Planning a Hitlerite holocaust
Hitler the most vicious, terrifying devil
Let loose on earth, where is he?
Nothing lasts, nothing, nothing, nothing.
Daphne Jayawardena
Pain
Pain, there are two kinds -
The physical pain, that eventually leaves
And the pain from the heart that would always remain
You fall, you're wounded, and the pain rips you apart!
You nurse your wound, treat it with care
It heals and you never despair
You are deeply hurt, from the bottom of your heart
You nurse your sorrows, try evading the pain
But deep down, you are scared and would always despair!
Your life is precious; it is short and is yours
Overcome pain, the hurt and don't despair,
Even though it would never leave you,
You could try and rise above the pain!
Saffiya
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