Ruining the moral murals
With its rhymes of times
Fulminous falls fell
Soaking my soul
With arts of heart-wall
The passing wayfarer
The life-laden layman
Seeing the callow curves
In a suppressed pipe dream
Giving a heart
of no fine art
A ditty with witty lines
Attuned with a fitting tune
Scented with a decent
Barely bloomed bud
In a thorn-throned thicket
To whir like a chirping cricket
I’m greatly grateful to thee
With a matchless sublime fee
For coaching in a cosy couch
Yonder, a song’s nature
And her phrasing of signature
Breathlessly speechless though
To requite the love I owe
You, to me, in words less
The Sinhagiri, the fortress
(The poetic English portrayal of the Sinhala verse ‘Wasanavan numba mata’ by Mr. Mahendra Siriwardane)
Categories:
sinhala, inspiration,
Form: Lyric
New year comes for us, not in January first
Cos’ the sun moves to the zodiac of goat
Flowers smile, birds sings to cheer his journey
Ah…ha April came with laughter and harmony
Time for new years’ fest
The kookoo bird said staying at the west
With a whistle with happiness zest
I and thou know it’s the best
Blast of fire crackers with a huge sound
Happiness, purity, the nation found
Wee kids playing all around
Fireworks passing without a bound
Erabadu blossoms red and bright
Bending towards the new year sight
Sinhala spring through day and night
Time to have fun with a pillow fight
Being in the country with a year through spring
This is the best time which is the sun bring
Put on a smile and wash off the grin
Come everyone it’s time to swing
Sweet meats passing hand by hand
Drum beating waving as an Eastern band
Cleaning the shelter by sweeping the sand
New year’s princess, spring is on stand
Categories:
sinhala, culture,
Form: Rhyme
The sky pales
against the curtains of my window,
dull screech of traffic
from the street,
and a hoarse voice
of an untamed crow
from the sky.
and then,
among those who are familiar
to the ear,
a low whistle,
loud, clear and beautiful.
Lifting its head
after nearly a year.
Filling the cities
filling the valleys,
it traverses
the entire island,
the whole of the tropics.
The first koel,
the first of the season.
* Koel always cries at the end of March-beginning of May. In local culture we celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year during April, and the Koel is thus seen as a symbol of the festival among locals. Of course, hearing the first koel always sparks excitement, especially when i was a kid. I heard one today for the first time in an year.
Categories:
sinhala, beautiful, bird, nature, new
Form: Free verse