100 Words
View(s):Comfort
At the end of a tedious day,
When the sun sets silently
He returns to the burning bed-sitter
In the dense city
And waits impatiently
Until six o’ clock
To embrace the sing song voice
Of his child
Over the phone
The tender address ‘Appachchi!’
The only comfort
That gives his life some meaning
And makes him feel he’s living.
Kumari Weerasooriya
Mahaweli National College of Education
Free Spirit
If only I could fly like a bird
I would leave Mother Earth
In search of another planet
Trillions of light years away
A salubrious place, gentle beings
A life style unmarred by
Violence, greed and other earthly ills.
No gravity to fetter me
I would be free to explore
A wondrous universe.
Chitra Premaratne Stuiver
Revival
Halt! The two army officers hurried
For a quick search –
Critically ill? Stroking the sick pup –
Make haste, curfew will be soon.
A rush to the vet.
He solemnly proclaimed
Only a few hours he will survive.
Take it to its mother – the only cure.
Sobbing, broken hearted, we drove to Kandy
Calamity, destruction, gunmen at every corner
At our destination
Hurried words follow and the sick pup taken in
The owner beckons us to follow
What a sight!
Mother bitch sniffing, licking, kissing
Its lost treasure, pup suckling milk
It’s alive, Mum! yells the tear-stained little girl
All in smiles.
I Premasinghe
Maha-Induruwa
Only
She trekked to their rural hospital
At day break
Joining the usual long queue, waiting patiently
With the hundred and one tasks to be done
When she returned.
By about noon, they were all told to go back home
As the doctors were on strike!
If only we were rich enough
To go to big hospitals, they all sighed
In unison.
Nalini Damayanthi Mahawaduge
Only me
I look over my shoulder
To share a thought with you
Something I wished
That you knew.
The words die on my lips
Unspoken
Have I forgotten, now it’s
Only me?
Every little thing speaks of you
I keep looking
My heart is sore
The house is the same
Yet it is not the same house
We shared
In a lifetime together
Each grew into the other
Essential to each other.
It’s hard to realise
Now there’s only me
Your voice is stilled
Your body ashes and dust
You cannot be here
Now it’s only me.
Kamala Gunesekera
| Thank you for your contributions to the 100 word page on ‘Only’ It is interesting to note the differences in the concepts expressed in this page today – from lonelinesss to wishful thinking to love. The theme for May is ‘Above’ Please send in your contributions before May 15 2017 to Madhubashini Dissanayake-Ratnayake, C/o The Sunday Times, No. 8, Hunupitiya Cross Road, Colombo 2 N.B.Work sent to this page may be edited. |