Bolgoda Lake

The ferry bumps on the banks
of the island
A light March breeze moves and
sways the wild rose against the fence
while a song bird trills high up in the air,
an oriole sings in the hedge

My gaze skims far along the water
that divides itself into
deep green, viridian, emerald, where
it catches the sun, grey green, then ochre
to tan and deep, deep brown
by strange turns making
crescents of colour

Wild flowers grow ankle high
sunlight drip, drips through
dark green boughs
We walk in wooded areas
A wild hen hurtles down from
the bank and scoots across the water
causing unending ripples
like our thoughts

A wind puff bonnet of fawn froth
ripples, as a streak of blue
darts in from above
comes out with a silvery
splutter in his beak and
takes his perch once again
on the high bough

So hot, sizzling, it is
I let a tree shower
over me and eagerly await
the soft breeze fanning
from the lake
I watch a boy row a boat
bend, push, pull,
bend, push, pull
rhythmic and hypnotic

Across, over the waters
the green haze on the trees change
into leaves and the smoky aura is
none other than rain flowers in clusters
Content, I watch the scene
then, you come and sit beside me
We talk over cups of steaming tea
till the evening mellows into soft light
till the setting sun silhouettes
the birds and distant trees Shireen Senadhira

In this poem which is a celebration of nature, the poet not only describes and recreates the spellbound beauty of Bolgoda Lake but also the life in its multiplicity associated with the lake. The lake is full of rain flowers, mangroves, and wild roses. A magnificent view of the lake and its fauna and flora are described against the characteristic breeze of the lake.

The poet enjoys the sublime beauty of the lake till the dusk when 'setting sun silhouettes the birds and distant trees' bidding farewell to living monument of nature. The poem is noted for its use of metaphor and its simple diction. -Indeewara Thilakarathne

A sonnet for mother Lanka

A day of May a year age
A new sun gave bright its rays
A back of push to up it go
A luck of golden all now says
Times of clash of this island heaven
Faded away since the new sun rose
Now no divisions we all are even
To play it again the track we paused
Mother Lanka the isle resplendent
To make thou soon the wonder of Asia
As a chain that hold the pendant
All we unite to make our share
Every child who newly born
Will see the shine of morrow morn W.P.N.C. Hapangala

The poet expresses his views on the peace and fervently hopes that Sri Lanka would be the 'wonder of Asia'. The poet echoes the sentiments of a section of the population that peace would unite Sri Lankans of diverse ethnicities. The poet uses short lines and evokes patriotic sentiments in the readers. -Indeewara

Child Labour

Generation with no identity,
Hidden and tortured under so called "Poverty Line"
Had lost its "Symbol of Civilization"...
They searched it everywhere..
In their home.. in schools..
Near playgrounds....
But nowhere to be seen...
The clock alarmed....
At last they found it there...
The symbol was hung
In the middle of a Slave -Yard..... Kumari Alokabandara

In a couple of lines, the poet sums up the plight of children who are forced to engage in work, deprived of their childhood. The root cause of child labour like most evils is nothing but abject poverty.

Their identity is obliterated under poverty and they are a generation which lost its 'symbol of civilisation'. The poet fervently searches for that symbol which is ultimately found hung in a 'Slave-Yard'. The poet uses a down-to-earth language to drive home the message and to depict the sad plight of children caught up in the vicious circle. -Indeewara