To 'Taksalawa'

Twinkling eyes, charming smile
Shapely figure with....
'A thing of beauty is a joy for ever'
Oh! What a melodious voice
It's still haunting our memories
Was she 'Sarasvathi' (Goddess of knowledge)
Clad in a white 'osariya'?
Was she a fairy-princess
Landed on this earth?
Her teachings - life-giving water
To a thirsty traveller in a hot desert.
And also Pearls of wisdom.
Her kind words - a healing touch
To many under-privileged
It was 'Taksalawa' (Abode of knowledge)
Once became famous
Not a money making 'tutory' ('Adyapana Kadaya')
Where knowledge is marketed
All thronged there cheerfully
To brighten their lives and the others too.
But those gentle steps to Taksalawa....
For ever and ever unexpectedly,
From the abode of Taksalawa
Which has lost its glory and sanctity now.
Oh! Sarasvathi,
May you land again
To grace the Throne of Thaksalawa
Embracing the priceless Treasure!
Who is she?

B. Roken Heart

The river by Kitulgala

The mighty river meanders along
Frolicking around hills and through dales
Caressing Mother Earth in fertile felicity.
In a hurried bid to reach the vast ocean lake,
She gathers momentum at every swirl and turn
Gliding along in an unbroken, unfettered sequence,
Recharged afresh with renewed fury intense.

On its way it carries playfully and gleefully,
Excited tourists in brightly coloured dinghies,
Giving them a taste of a delightful experience
Of being daring and exceedingly adventurous.
Oh; what a wonderful sight to behold'
Man with Mother Nature intermingled as one
Praising the Lord of Creation, for evermore.

J.I. Rosairo.

Birth, Mirth and Death

When a child comes into this world
Only cries not utters a word
As if he knew the suffering
Of humans undergoing

Age of schooling begins
With showering kisses and blessings
Walks from home in ecstasy
A golden canopy is his primacy

Maiden voyage to school
Environment not quite cool
Loneliness begins and he looks around
With pleasant feelings profound

Most unwillingly he goes to school
Not caring to be a fool
Sometimes he is in a pond
With strange boys and girls fond

Reading writing he does well
In recitation does he swell
Letters 'O' and 'F' properly pronounced
The Alphabet never denounced

Next dawns his age of youth
Enjoying life without biting any tooth
With well trimmed moustache and well groomed hair
Sighing like a furnace for anything dare

Beauty is only but skin deep
He does not ponder over a weep
His love, heaven nature charged
Should be graces wide enlarged

Uninvited he came hither
He departed without face wither
Even as he came just he went
What lamentation is there to be sent ?

Premawansa Ranatunga

Pigeon's feathers

Gift of fanciful notion
a blessing conferred
on those who lean on fences
on a cold morning
My mind swims binding
itself to sounds and scenes
spins silently like
wheels on green grass
Then in a fluid motion
that thrilled me no end
Such greenery
All birds singing on
this crisp morning
creepers adorning every house
surround every garden
Winding on trees
growing on wires
along the fences
that line every lane
for freshness, lightness and
youth
Brilliant blues, greens and
yellows
Neighbour's pigeons fluttered
up and down the sky
striving - compelled to fly
as high as possible
Speaking the richness of
innocence tinged with sadness
An interval in between
to face reality
There is a prize in cash
for the owner of the pigeon
that reach the highest
Horses run races
and polo, elephants too
Man's unkindness to
beast and birds
A safe home we wait for
The wings of the pigeons
fluttered vigorously
casting a gloom over
"Alright, it is fitting
in this irregular world"
A pigeon's feather floated
into the outstretched palm
of my hand
I held the delicate thing
for a moment
Then quietly
carried it home
From the evergreen landscape
aware of the flavour and fizz
of this morning.

Devi Singam

End of the tether

In the on setting dusk
On a rural dirt track
I met a rickety old cart
Meandering its way
Across the harvested fields

Worn out wheels were wobbling
Echoing a disjointed clatter
Shaggy old bull with resigned look
Was hauling the cart leaving
A trail of hoof marks followed by wheels

The weather beaten carter was snoozing
Abandoning the cart to his bull
The old carter and his bull were working
Out their bonded common destiny

To the creeping darkness
They crossed the bride over the brook
Then I heard the staccato scream
Of a crane shattering the silence
of the ter rain

G.H.A. Suraweera

A New Year

Start the new year with a mind that's free.
Gather the hours-let it crowded be,
Let not a minute slip by in vain,
May you look back with lot of gain.

Greet each person with a sweet refrain
May peace behold - yet no pain.
Like a new born babe do carry on
Sweetly, innocently in perfect form.

Think of the year that's gone away,
Correct the errors - start a better way,
Do good deeds as you string along,
Guide yourself with a mind that's strong.

New year starts with hopes and dreams.
Try to achieve it by straight means.
Build strong pillars that you can lean,
And prosperity - your strongest beam.

Letitia Hewavisenti

Reward

He was a blessed man
To have a wife like his
Who got up before him
Gave him coffee in bed
Prepared his breakfast and lunch
Before he went to office
Washed his clothes and ironed them
In short she attended to everything
He needed for his personal comfort
She went to bed after him
Doing all the household chores

But the man got entangled
With another woman
Left his wife
And lived with the other woman
And divorced his wife

Now he is preparing
Bed coffee for his new wife
And washing and ironing her clothes

Arul

The two

Greed and lust are evil twins,
They lead man to his ultimate rain.
For ever-lasting happiness, man has to set
his sail,
His ship of prayer and wisdom must prevail.
Then man will be on the correct path,
Avoiding others' enmity and wrath.
The right path will lead to the redemption
of his soul,
Keeping his passions under his control.
Greed and lust do cause unwanted anger,
Then that is a signal to say man is in danger.
Foolish is the man who says:
'Words don't matter', nonetheless,
If he does not take it seriously,
There'll be a day he'll repent certainly.
If man is afflicted with pain and disease,
With proper care, he'll recover with ease,
But, if he does fall a victim to conceit,
All that awaits him is sheer defeat.
Let not man think that 'words do not matter',
They do, but not those words that flatter.
Sticks and stones may break his bones,
And make him a person disease-prone.

M.I. Mohamed Ansarevils

My thoughts about you

I can't live without you
Because you are my life
I can't think anything else
Because you are my ideas
I can't do anything without you
Because you encourage me often
I can't sleep without you
Because you are my dream
So how can I forget you?
Because you are my future....

Kanchana Cooray

Bless you - my dear soldier

Only you will risk your life for others
With your strength and handful of glee you will
Leave a smile on everyone's face

You've touched the lives of so many people
And that is why your influence lives on in all of us
We know that you will always watch over us
Dear soldier we are really proud of you

Please know that we are thinking of you
Missing you and will be there for you
Be happy about what you have done for this country

You are going through all the tough times of mother Lanka
We will treasure your memories of victory and defeat
We haven't got enough words to thank you
For the lives that you are safeguarding

We bless you for all the courage, strength and confidence
For a real struggle of humanity
This world has no room for inhumanity
Thus you are protected with love

Janadari Wijesinghe