Belonging
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…
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…
The heartbeat of my country Crashes as wave against rock Bursts into spray and song, It roars down monsoon-swollen rivers, Drips one reluctant drop at a time From the leaves of a…
There will be lamentations and sadness, there are already, and recriminations. Why did we allow the unthinkable to fall down on those hapless families in tents and bunkers? Why did we agree…
219 Tamils were rounded up in Gampaha town during dusk to dawn raids. They had no proper id cards and did not offer adequate reason to be living in the vicinity. Their…
Refugees are sometimes active have agency they Leave, Flee, Sneak Flow over boundary lines unchecked like rivers they Escape, Hide Cross territories they Flood places like unnatural disasters are associated with Asylum…
Mr K died today Not unusual, all things perish But he was very young And had just got two tiny teeth And was a little fighter He tried hard to live In…
[Editors note: These poems respond to Indran Amirthanayagam’s poems here, here and here. They are both part of the Writers Under Siege collection on .] 1 i am not a writer i…
Six boys from Hindu College will enter the scene from Stage Left, an equal number of girls from Muslim Ladies Stage Right. They will shake their bodies, slide and writhe, and be…
Citizens of Killinochchi and Mullaitivu fled before our liberators arrived. They live for the moment in nearby jungle under a canopy punctured by shells. Some moved to a safe zone demarcated by…
The town is full of stray dogs, cows, ghosts, buildings pockmarked, unhinged, open to wind and rain. Soldiers patrol on foot. Trucks and tanks rumble through the center. Rebels took all the…
While the bureaucrat fulminates about the cost of hotel rooms in Geneva and the great burden placed on the Sri Lankan government to have to pay exorbitant rates, he may wish to…
He heard that peace will be here soon He lay in six inch deep muddy water watching the enemy in the horizon His eyes watered and mind wandered who was the real…
I remember the day I heard Richard was killed Almost twenty years ago. Far away in the diaspora I sat all night My back bent and still. Regimes shifted, People still disappeared…
During civilized periods in the history of kingdoms courtiers, or the king’s person himself, in audience with the gadfly, would offer the fellow death or exile. These days assassins butcher their fly…
Blood wanted, urgent! Quick, all you friends Can you please help To find more blood To immerse this whole nation In the red, life-giving fluid? The mighty Tsunami With all its geo-force…