DARK BRIGHTNESS
It was dark and soothingly cool
Under and around the place.
The king of the forest
Was spreading its hands
Far and wide
Letting cheerful birds to play
Hide and seek among leaves,
Snakes relaxed along the stems,
Shady heaven lavishly invited
Animals to rest in rain and shine.
Oh! selfish, loveless humans
What have you done?
You have made the place
Shine brightly you think,
But don't you know
Your future is dark?
Kumari Weerasooriya
****
Cuckoo
Koo koo
Voicing loveliness and liveliness
Pleasing, drawing inquisitiveness
Bubbling tone of
Babes, day – born
Looking to kindle and fondle
Comfortably nestle
Wrestling in the shed
Taking tree as its shade
Cuckooing twenty plus five times
Musically – it rhymes
Pride of birds' sound
Proud amidst around
Lovers' sighing in depth
The call for help
Eternal lovers' call
As if united-eternal
Sweetest voice
Swiftly voiced
Double beat once
Redoubling in turns
Flute read, tunes
Repeated - eight to ten tones
Precised rhythming,
Clockwork rhyming
Followed the next morning
Heard voice heart rending
Confidence wresting,
Promising, compromising,
Call - innocently ending
Coming close proximity
For purpose of intimacy
Four beats and changed volumes
Cuckooing forty times
Make me think your tone is
True lovers’ toneic
Rhythmic, repeated, double tones.
Time precision in phones
Felt, incalls, sentiments
Steadily raising in tones,
Call ends up fast, in prudence
In an evening; followed by raining
Hearing loveliest dialogue!
In reality a monologue!
organic beating,
Overwhelming - defeating,
Eighteen beats - three variations
After every six beat, sound raising
sensitive tone - on
rainy, windy nights, ye own
calling forcompanyand help
Until the rains wound up.'
In one fine morn
Listened union tone
Cuckoo
Fahim Latiff
****
The Willow Leaf
“….Stability itself is nothing but a more languid motion….”
Michel De Montaigne-Of Repentance
With a touch of envy
I survey
the tall wrought iron-gate,
the narrow tarmac
lined with a row of Frangipanis
and the immense play-ground
as I cycle by
my Alma-mater.
The uniformed security guards
at the gate
and people in scruffy work clothes
on a tall scaffolding
beavering away at the new building
under construction…
the whole outlandish spectacle
crafted by
the untiring hands of time
leave me longing
for the good old days…
Yet, the Frangipanis abloom,
the willow-tops dancing in the wind,
the old stone wall,
mossy at the top
still appear to me,
to withstand the ravages of time,
and console my old soul…
I heave an euphoric sigh of relief
in the discovery of the constants
that satiate my nostalgia
but for a moment.
About the changeless willow tops,
now I see something faint adrift,
in the wind,
perhaps, a withered willow-leaf
with force enough
to shatter my sense of stability
more fragile than an eggshell.
I go. I pause.
I succumb to the wisdom of my heart
I succumb to the will of time.
I’m but a moment.
I’m also the Infinity.
Jayashantha Jayawardhana
****
Broad mind
Oh! Mind!
You are with a man or woman
Why are you narrow
While you have broad space
You give a chance to man
To treat others
With prejudice
And narrow approach
Because of your thoughtless
Attitude
Man misuses your narrow policy
So Mind! Will you be broad
To be adopted by man
On all occasions
For all your kith and Kin
MYM MEEADH
****
A bliss of solitude
A falling star upon the earth,
The falling leaves upon my head
The falling, strange rain drops swallow my body
The flowing wind of hopes blows away my soul
And the overflowing memories of you,
Taught me that the "Autumn" Is a bliss of solitude.
Wasana Kumarasinghe
****
Street Lights
When darkness envelops stealthily
Busy streets and towns are deserted swiftly,
Then street lights are lit at conspicuous points,
Which flicker and shimmer with radiance,
A little later walks in shadows of the night,
They brighten the solitary atmosphere.
Adorned in her finery with a coy smile,
Stands a lone woman under a light,
Waving her bag to and fro.
A few feet away under similar lights,
Stands other women dressed in trendy attire,
Roaming the streets to be picked up sooner or late,.
The streets are their haven, and
The lights are their halts.
Some are compelled to earn for their living,
Whilst few others cherish the easy life style.
Yasmin Jaldin
****
Baby Jesus
Dear Baby Jesus.
They buy you,
to adorn the corner
of a Mansion
with a manger.
For, one needs to be
a true Christian,
on a Christmas eve.
A contented tear oozes
from the eye sockets of a street urchin,
who identifies Baby Jesus
in the crib of a shop- window.
He identifies himself:
for he is an untimely chosen one
to serve in heaven.
Jesus, I love you ever so much.
You are the greatest “Parable”
of every incarnation of each era
who pays with blood and life
to defy the cruel yoke of injustice.
Quintus Senevibandara Athaudha
****
Mary Immaculate
Immaculate! Immaculate!
Virgin Mother of Christ
Raised to celestial heights
With adiadem crowned
Above all womankind renowned
Humble maiden, virgin pure
Devoid of all women’s allure
Role model to women, modest, inspiring
Reserved, gentle; unflinchingly accepting
the Holy Will of God;
Conceived sans stain of original sin
The Messiah - The Godhead Son.
She! Mary!God’s chosen one.
Jeannette Cabraal
