At peace

May 1956, Lewella
Starry eyed lovers
Chasing each other
Across the swaying bridge
Years later, a happy home
Children, grand-children chasing
Each other
May 2006, Nuwara Eliya
She lies in the cold earth
While I'm chasing
Memories and shadows
In the swirling fog
Shrounding Lake Gregory.

– Willie Perera

Little girl

She stares back at me,
Innocent eyes wide with fear.
Unable to comprehend what I have become.

I have known great love
Followed by great loss.

Peeping just beyond the edge of my mirror,
A white araliya tucked behind one ear.
She eludes me.

Intoxicated by draughts of ambition,
I have drowned in vanity and self-pity.

If only I could catch your dimpled hand
And return with you,
To learn once more,
Your gentle ways…..
Before you dance out of reach.
Before who I was becomes
A mere memory
Forever lost
Inside my mirror.

– V. Ramanayake

August 4, 2006 in Muttur

Panic in Muttur.
A silent procession wends its way,
Bundles slung, babes on hips,
Pots balancing on their heads,
To Kantalai,
With haunted expressions
Seen before, across the world
Through endless time,
The pathos of leaving a loved home.

Secure in Muttur?
Return to a lie,
of unsettled disputes,
and battles.

Oppression in Muttur.
Bewildered people
Run anywhere, run somewhere,
Run from Muttur.
To make-shift homes.
Stay there, die there,
chasing elusive safety and peace.
Manipulators of war
know not of powerlessness
nor care for the helpless.

In Muttur,
Ambiguity shrouds
Seventeen massacred bodies,
They only came to help.

– Priyeni de Silva McLeod

The blind chase

As long as he could remember
The chase was on
A torrent wave deep within
Yet the surface was still and serine
In perfect harmony with his nature
A chase so intense and focused
Never swaying, never diluting
Oblivious to the surroundings and happenings
A subject so illusive
Almost mythical
Yet so real
Blurring all lines of comprehension
One by one
The precious belongings disappeared
Yet the chase remained
The primeval urge
Until the whole world collapsed
Weakened over the years
Quite unnoticed
As the dust settled
The urge vanished
Leaving emptiness
And a deep sorrow!

– Thushara Chathuranga

Trance

Chasing shadows big and small
reflected on the moonlit wall
at the call of the wind.
Chasing thoughts across my mind
Suddenly, delightfully I find
shadows of memories left behind
chasing fragments of last night's dream
trying to scheme what
that dream did mean
I found myself chasing bits of that
dream around to the tune of
"You may not be an Angel"
Chasing dreams led to chasing moonbeams
and I awoke with a jerk
And horrified I looked and saw
the clock on the wall said 6.10
Chasing Kitty Cat off my bed I
started chasing myself into my clothes

– Ms Pearline L. Withena

Pursue

When we were children
We were chasing
Butterflies and dragonflies
The breeze chasing us.
Now –
We are chasing each other
To overcome
To outbeat
To win
In the arena
Of life.

– Priscilla Pereira

Chasing

She joined the rush of the commuters, who were chasing the bus that would take her home.

Wearily, she walked down the lane. Thoughts kept chasing one another, in her mind – thoughts of the many chores that awaited her.

She walked in, set the heavy bag on the floor, sat down and stretched her feet.

Suddenly, all the fatigue and tension seemed to leave her, and a smile lit up her face – as she caught sight of her ginger kitten chasing its own tail!

– Mrs. Noeline Azariah

Letting go

All through the years
chasing Art
And being chased by Art,
The gypsy watched the twinkling stars.
"I'll enjoy them all,"
he sang to his heart.
"I wish to be free
to want other sights
to explore other hearts
like I did hers.
Life is for butterflies
flowers sway for them
I love every minute
I spend by myself
after the chase
With only the thought of
my moments with you
I hope you understand
I hope you don't mind
It was fun while it lasted
Let's learn to let go
Let's tango with time
chasing a new
A wild morrow"

– Uma Bhaskaran