Monday, July 6, 2009

Belonging, A Poem

Belonging
Indran Amirthanayagam

The island belongs
to centipede,
rat, butterfly,
lots of species
each with
their own habitats,
and supervising
all arable and
fallow land
the president king.

Minorities
may enjoy
clean living
in freshly cleared
forest patches,
welfare villages
with amenities
such as latrines
and tents,
gated communities.

June 28, 2009

4 comments:

  1. brilliant. the mix of compassion and irony leaves one with disturbing and compelling images. thank you for sharing.

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  2. Hello. I was really touched by the poem Victory and Defeat. I found it online , I think in groundreviews,. My friends and I are doing a project on installations involving translating poetry and the true essence of Sri Lankan nationalist movement.
    I would like to know more of your views on the subject.

    Harish
    coolthakkali@gmail.com

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  3. centipede,
    rat, butterfly, share the other land with the marginal, the poor and the discriminated.

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