Shirani Rajapakse Poems

They sit in a row, heads
Bowed low, and accept
...

Hands across the world we are
the masses. We protest injustice
that those in high office calls
justice. We weather the spray,
...

Out of the ruins of war rose a voice
so calm it took us by surprise. Was this
peace? We rejoiced and marveled at
the thought.
...

Lifting, moving,
bowing. Blue stripes
on loose white cover
skin and bone too
...

Give me a sip of water
for my lips are parched, my throat too dry
to speak and I will sing you a song
of the Sahel as I remember it. A song soft
...

The aroma from my coffee wafts
through the room. The sweet
taste of the doughnut lingers in my
mouth as I sit in cushioned
...

The men ride through the night. Their horses
gallop to time on the sands as they
move through the dust rising, rising like a cloud.
And as they move they sing.
...

You placed me on
a shelf and left
me there to dry. I was
forgotten.
...

You watched from your window as they came in numbers
large enough to take over the world.
One by one they built a park of humanity.
I watched from my PC, my window to there – where you were.
...

She stared out at the people passing on
the street before her. A myriad
of colours and shapes
wafted by, some hurrying some moving
...