Belonging

30 Jun, 2009 Peace and Conflict, Poetry, Politics and Governance, Post-War, Writers Under Siege

The island belongs
to centipede, rat,
butterfly,
lots of species
each with
their own habitats,
and supervising
all arable
and fallow land
the president king.

Minorities
may enjoy
clean living
in freshly cleared
forest patches,
welfare villages
with amenities
such as latrines
and tents,
gated communities.

June 28, 2009

Writers Under Siege

Part of the Writers Under Siege collection on Groundviews. For more information, click here.

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4 Comments

  1. Belle
    June 30, 2009 • 9:34 pm

    Beautiful work! The irony in the contrast between free nature and unfree humanity is powerful. “President king”–good one!

    I’m becoming quite a fan of Amirthanayam’s poetry.

    Reply

  2. punitham
    July 1, 2009 • 4:38 pm

    1.Simple and stunning – soon he will gain Nobel Prize.

    2.One on trawler nets please.

    Reply

  3. ForATruelyIndependantSriLanka
    July 1, 2009 • 6:52 pm

    Indran Amirthanayagam, seriously ? minority may live only in those places you mentioned? – Either you have never been to sri lanka and met the majority of the people here, or you are one of those people who sensationalise things to suit your own agenda.

    Reply

  4. Ramalingam
    July 2, 2009 • 5:30 pm

    Beautiful piece of work.

    Reply

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