|
“Forgive me brother for the blood shed
Because my people took arms
They lost reason ancient wisdom
The same guns turned on us”
“Forgive me sister for the blood shed
Raped pillaged for others who took guns
For children who missed their childhood
I give my tears & penitent heart”
“Forgive me brother the bombs set off
In the busy streets killing & maiming
Wives widowed & child orphaned
Loss of limb, life & property”
“Forgive me sister shells & bombs
Fretful Wanderers in land of birth
Scattered thru globe – aliens on the run
Come back come back – we’ll do better”
Tamils of the diaspora, Jaffna and Vanni
Tamils of the fighting corps fiercely angry
Tamils for me are a more personal part
Not mere numbers – close to my heart
My classmates at the school by the sea
My batch mates in the Medical faculty
Yet more long the list will grow
Bestman at our wedding of yore
Christian brother, friend a Tamil
School debates and quiz a thrill
Thought not race but camaraderie
Played cricket, soccer & rugby
|
Syntax, idioms of the Queen’s English
Teachers of four races taught with relish
Never was there rancour
In our scholarly ardour
Sinhala & Tamil education
Two languages one nation
Many of my Professors were Tamil
They were days of charm & tranquil
Around a cadaver anatomy learned
Effort, skill & work, merit earned
Many injustices since independence
Majority squirmishes no repentance
1983 July the great watershed
Hell broke loose much bloodshed
Blood & Vengeance came to be our life
Pearl of the Indian ocean torn with strife
Once brothers with hurt hatred divided
Over the globe new frontiers provided
Have we learnt the lessons of blood
Our faces bruised down with a thud
Rising from ashes, beauty can come
Sinhalese & Tamils unite as One
Chief Executive a Shepherd has to be
Heart of God & grit loans for bad credit scores he has to receive
Promises to deliver, dignity to create
Heal a bruised people mend & relate
|
Dusty roads and vanni sun cook the boiling tempers
Once with guns now with shovels work unsung soldiers
Multitudes suffer in camps, hovels brutal sweat shops
Elite few warm their chairs or climb their dizzy hops
Midday pack with dusty hands eats a weary soldier
Every hundred meters is their home called the bunker
War to peace, terror to ease, yet they work e’en harder
IDP of three generations have found a friend & brother
Merchants of misery list is long learn to earn & fleece
Doctors with Patients, Lawyers with clients fat fees
Crises and disasters no less lucrative marketed aright
Fourth estate mint their millions opining on others’ plight
Business moguls plan for profit Jaffna is wide open
Some How to attract Diaspora for the time has ripen
Who thinks of people who lost their homes & dignity
In a terror king’s bigoted fantasy and ruthless insanity
O for a shepherd in judiciary, executive or legislature
One to heal the wounds and place the needed suture
One hearing the sheep bleat, babies anguished rupture
Father for a nation and people, groping for their future
Vavuniya hub & heart of the cross section
Right to Mannar – left to Trincomalee
Neck to Jaffna & feet stretch to the South
With the milk of human kindness
Gateway Town I bless thee
Be thou a bridge for peace & amity
If we fail now we fail for all time
Loss to many generations misery multiplied
Now is the moment, patriot’s finest hour
Think not what I can get but what I can offer
Head of State we encourage thee
To rise above petty strife
To statesmanship reminisced by
Unborn generations to come that sigh –
A sigh of relief that there once was nigh
A President who heard the cry
And Healed the Land……..GOD HELPING
Reconciling Rifts – Bruises Healing
|
