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Soul
searching words I can fly
to the highest mountain I can fly
over the blue grey seas I can fly
into the night I can fly
back into the day Then I would
swoop down to earth Did you know I fly" Bubbly, bouncy, Mihirini de Zoysa seems as though she really does know how to fly. 'I Can Fly', the last poem in her collection published this year, seems to express the essence of her poetry and so, significantly, the title boldly and yet simply states 'I can fly'. "We all have it in ourselves to fly," says Mihirini voicing the integral thought behind this poem, which was inspired by a dream. Once interpreted, she says, the dream was symbolic of the need to reach in and find our core selves if we truly did want to fly. A thought characteristic of the soul searching Mihirini. "I was always like that, even as a child; always searching, always seeking." Thus naturally the narrative voice, in most of her poems, is constantly searching. "In a way, I suppose writing poetry is my way of working things out, my way of trying to reach an integral part of me. Sometimes it's a 'venting out' process when something makes me angry. When something moves me so much that I don't know what to do with the feelings and thoughts that swirl around in my head I write it down. And that's my poem." Since "writing thoughts down" was more or less a habitual occurrence, Mihirini admits that she never really considered herself 'a poet' in the strictest sense of the word and as a result most of the people she knew, even those quite close to her, didn't know this side to her. But, she says, "I was pleasantly surprised when after I had published the book some friends told me that they remembered me as a 'writer'." Now available at the Barefoot Bookshop, Vijitha Yapa Bookshop and Taprobane Bookshop, it's almost unimaginable that 'I can fly' just may have remained a personal collection of secret diaries filled with poems, if Mihirini hadn't decided to publish the most recent of her work. This collection comprises poems written from around 1999 to date, which are arranged in a fairly chronological order and in that sense it's significant of, what Mihirini terms, "a sort of poetic journey corresponding with the changes in my life". The past couple of years have been for her a time for 'figuring things out' and that is reflected in her poetry. "Even though there were some poems I wasn't too happy with, I left them in the collection because to take a poem away would be to lose an experience that has been a step, or a milestone in my journey." Creations
of life "I think I inherited the gift of writing poetry from my mother who is a teacher of literature and a writer herself," says Randima who adds that, for her, writing poetry is not about formulas and methods but rather the capturing of a moment, or a thought so that it is preserved forever. This springs from the fact that she has always been a keen observer of life, of people, even of things dismissed as trivialities. These observations almost always are her inspiration and it is because of this that "most of my poetry is created on an impulse." "Flowers
are offered, lamps are lit ...How many
Vesaks will pass good Lord Impulsive, though
her poems may be, Randima maintains that all her poems do have some
kind of message. Depending on the experience the message differs;
sometimes it's a very personal message, like the thoughts uttered
in the poem Vee Atuwa, "There are times when I consciously make a point on issues that affect all of us, says Randima, "which is what more people can relate to. But, that kind of poetry is harder to write because my observations have to be constructive." Poetry is also
her way of expressing sentiments difficult to voice: "Sometimes,
however close I am to a person there are things I can't say directly,
but the words seem to flow when put into poetic thought. It would
be odd to go up to my cousins and nostalgically reminisce about
our childhood and tell them how much I regret that our child hood
is over. But that I can write." |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
fascination
as it rained and was inspired into writing her very first attempt
at what she calls "verse making". Over the years, parents,
teachers, relatives and friends rallied around her, encouraging
the poet they all knew and loved. And, although the actual launch
of her book came much later, on her 21st birthday her father's gift
to her were the first copies of her 'Creations of Impulse' in print.'
