Pure land

I stretched my body on pure land
Under the shade of palmyrah fronds
Enjoying the fragrance of North.

Sweet air is breezing
Waves are crowned for their timeless flowing
Wild flowers are kissing in its unmerciful air
Murmuring the word
Shanthy...Shanthy...Shanthy....

People accenting different langue
Wearing various clothes
Are flowing with smiling and pleasant lips
Oh!! It's a heaven

No revolutions! No rivalries! No checkpoints!
They have no Government
But one global village
I'm gazing and gazing
Is it Jaffna???

Arivarasy Muthulingam

The poet experiences freedom in the 'pure land' which has now been filled with religious chanting. The poet has used down-to -earth languages

”An elegy for pope john paul
written in St. Peter's square” (on the day of his funeral)

Here lies in state today
Divinely in an eternal slumber
The noblest of nobles on earth
His smiling face, serenely blended
And his loving holy hands
Which had never failed to bless
Rest now, fondly clutching
The Holy Cross he ever loved to adore

Swarmed around by humans in tears
Infant dear to the grave- near old
Monarchs and Queens of kingdoms great
Tall leaders with supreme powers but humble now
And the poorest of the poor
All in multitudes swarm around
Like the busy bees humming around
But here, they, in silence abound
To venerate and prostrate before
Their shepherd, incarnate of God benign

Infallible he had been
Meriting the throne he adorned
Even the dusk was dawn for him
To celebrate his endless tasks to humanity
Deserting comforts of his Palace abode
He took to his heels and landed all around
In search of souls spread far and farther
Unmindful of the legacy of aches and pains he gained
Which he faced with a cherubic smile
Lest diffidence scuttle his mission

In his kingdom, only justice reigned
King or slave made difference not
A spade was called a spade forthright
The feeble and the poor gained his hands
Solace and comfort flowing free
Unto their hearts from his mercy veins

Having left His son on earth
Four and decades eight to count
Forlorn, God, his father felt
On John's long exit out.
On a call he heard from Him
Wasting not a minute more
And jumping up with immense joy
Like a hare just born in barn
Longing for its mother's warmth
Ran John out to answer
The loving call from his father divine

Heavens opened up above
With all celestial glories spilled around
The golden lightning brightening the space
And an Undying Jubilation thundering the skies
To receive back our John, the blessed son
But, Alas! An instant gloom has dawned
On the face of Mother earth below
An irreparable loss widely felt
By every human far and wide
Touched by him on globe around
With the magic wand he held
In his hands of flawless love

No surprise, mankind is now
A long beeline in Vatican
Weeping louder, drenched in sorrow
Know ye brethren, John has gone
Just to plead blessings for
You and I craving same
From our loving Master Supreme
Hark! If you still feel the pain of loss
Fathom not, the depth of grief
For, unfathomably, its fathoms deep!

Tharciuss Fernando

The poem is about the passing away of Pope John Paul II who has now been beatified as a saint. The poet happened to be a one who had participated in the funeral. The poet has used apt metaphors extolling the virtues of Pope John Paul II.

He is my drug

A giant of a man
With a smile of a boy
In the next seat
On my way back home

We talk
We laugh
He is sun burnt
And witty but gaffe

'My ex did topless
I was high and reckless
But I am re-married
There, that's my wife
We make good money
She is great, my honey'

'See the little guy in the middle
That's my nephew
I drive a truck
She saved a buck
Here we were

In the kingdom of Daffy Duck''
'His folks are messed up
Just like I was
I ain't doing that s not now

We took him in
Poor little guy
He needed a chance'

He is lucky, I added
We are lucky, he nodded

A silence
A light in his eyes

'He loves me
He is my drug'

That big heart
That big smile
That big hand

With all that
There is hope
In this land

Ananda P Dasanayake

Through an insignificant incident, the poet expresses the philosophy of life of the masses in a land of opportunities. The poet uses apt metaphors to drive home the message.

Mask

I wish I had
several varieties of masks
Some of them
to protect myself
while -
many of them
to acknowledge myself.

Masks of different
colours, different
people have
occasional masks,
context related maskology.

No one rather have
their real ones,
Marginal is the
reality to unrealistic,
only a few of them.
Masks - cut and coloured
to equal the requirement.
But unfortunately
the ultimate requirement
is left outside unequally.

Our nature has different
masks too -
Not to blame it
it has got -
some ferocious kinds too,
customized to its seasons.

Some people hang around
with their respective masks
to get them-
polished and embossed
politically, personally,
culturally, ethically
and intellectually.

Mask is indeed the reality
in the truth of everything.

Lyzahp Luthphy

The poem is about different faces one may wear on different occasions. The poet has used simple and effective lines.

Facebook

Facebook is a social network,
Where you find people with no work.
Knowledge and education only by hard work,
Thus will own you a company at Turk.

Facebook wastes your precious time,
Which you would taste in your future as lime.
You never open your English, Maths and Science book,
But you frequently access facebook.

You always say;
That you write the essay,
As a team work,
At the social network.

There's no one to take any measure,
So you log on to facebook at your leisure,
And find some pleasure,
But not a treasure.

It's bitter;
To write a letter;
Asking for shelter
So find your own track to glitter.
You aren't a creature,
You need a bright future.
Listen to lecture,
And make up your own architecture.

Which is better?
You being the black hatter,
By going around the world which would never matter;
Or make the world come to your setter!!!

It's up to you to select the correct surge,
That would emerge.
It is your future;
So get into the right juncture.

Hasfan Jailan

The poet conveys an idea for life through a seemingly description about face book. The poet has used simple diction. On some occasions, he uses rhyming words.

Trounced rigidity

Compassionate touch
Aptly applied
Twists blunt and stiff
Slowly, but steadily, to
Vision de luxe;
Coats smoothness
Impinges no anguish!

Jayatissa K.Liyanage

The poem is noted for it brevity of expression and use of apt metaphors. The poet's dealing with the subject is exemplary.

Death visits an elders' home

I lie still,
Covered by flowers,
Lighted by candles,
In this funeral parlour,
Thanks to the charity and piety,
Of a few felt bound by duty.

Now that I am dead,
There will certainly be tears,
Some with sighs,
Many with silence,
Undoubtedly with not much grief,
Relieved at last with a sigh of relief.

I will never know a warmth, wet with a tear,
A Heart felt sorrow, genuine and so dear,
Not for me an elegy written by a grieved one,
For they are dead
Or not yet, to this world born.

Nalaka Dassanayake

The poem has been written from a dead man's point of view. The underlying message is that moaning has become a farce and there are no real tears but crocodile tears. For some, another's death is a sigh of relief. The poet has used effective language and apt metaphors.

Escape

A desire
is
burning within me
to fly far
far away
from you,
to a world of my own,
Without thought
speech and action,
pain grief and sorrow.
But I'm bound chained
and grounded.
My wings are too heavy to be lifted.
I suffer, perish and
die alive
In this world
which is not
mine.

Chamalika Manawadu

The poet skilfully recreates a state of mind of a girl who is crying for freedom and longing to fly to world without woes. The poet has used simple and effective lines.

Gone

Thy hopelessness
Beside you
My poverty
My hopelessness
Gone without a word

Bertholamuze Nisansala Dharmasena

The poet conveys a complex idea through a couple of lines. The short lines are effective and idiomatic.