Life, Links, Society

A War-torn Week: A Retrospective

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A war-torn landscape,

A significant show of faith,

New gun laws, end up being a non-law,

A week full of tragedy & pain, with no end,

Intercepted envelopes, laced with poison;

Foiled assassination attempts,

Coupled with indiscriminate violence,

Sink holes,

Shoot-outs, explosions, car-chases, a city-wide lock-down, and manhunts through the night,

While across the sea, an iron lady is laid to rest by over-the-top pageantry-

No one cried, save a grown man who holds the key to the treasury-

Perhaps, he was regretting a further downgrading by yet another credit agency!

A strange, unconnected, juxtaposited mix;

Leaving me thinking, is it the season of mad men (not the show) and craziness all-round?

All said and done, I have realised:

I pay far too much attention  to the news-

And, I’m going to *try* to go cold turkey from now on!

Blogroll, Day Dream, Kids Story

Scarecrow

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The Scarecrow Outside My Window
The Scarecrow Outside My Window

There’s a scarecrow outside my window,

It’s always bobbing from side to side in the wind,

A bit scary in winter, when its bones are exposed,

And truly terrifying in the long nights, when shadows join it in its dance ‘n’ play,

Never the less, it does what a scarecrow is meant to do:

Keeping nightmares, predators, opportunists and thieves in the night at bay,

And occasionally taps on my window, to let me know that it’s there,

Providing this man-made-child a reassuring, restful, night’s sleep,

In spring, my scarecrow sprouts leaves which he uses to sing a rustling, bustling hymn…

To keep us company through the summer days in celebration of its return to flesh!

My Daddy says he’s a grumpy ol’ sod for messing up his shiney new car with his poop, oily bits and what-not,

Though I love him all the same, ’cause he’s the only scarecrow I got,

And if you look around outside, you’ll see that I’m not the only kid who does!!! 🙂

Uncategorized

The Thaw

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Dinu's Icicle 2

Is this the thaw we’re finally witnessing?

‘Cause, I feel like this icicle is finally (albeit, very reluctantly) melting!!

I see people all around, doubled up on the layers, caps and scarves!

In an attempt to cover every bit of exposed flesh conceivably possible,-

Against these bitterly cold winds and plummeting temperatures,

Winter has most certainly – I’m sure you’ll agree – overstayed its welcome this year!

So, before I start seeing icicles form on everyone’s noses and begin similarly dripping,

I’d fervently urge the Powers That Be to save me from such ghastly imaginings and, please, please…

Turn up the temperature!!!

Day Dream, Folklore, Life, Uncategorized

Starlight: Twilight

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The stars that bore witness to your birth, make up your star sign;

It means that every nuance of your life, death, and your previous lives, are chartered-

Like the detailed maps guiding ships across vast oceans, by twilight,

Entrusted by sailors with their lives, since ancient times,

Silent sentinels standing unflinching witness to the happenings of human, animal & nature alike,

Undoubtedly, filling volumes with the detail of their observations of our lives-

Like scientists taking turns to obsessively record every little happening on a Petri dish ,

Adhering to strict control measures, at all times:

Observing cells form, meander & replicate, under microscopes,

Like watching a plant gradually grow from seed to flowering;

Measuring the passage of our centuries in milliseconds,

And charting the individual strands that makeup the course of our lives-

Creating an ever-evolving Muriel that belie the scary & beautiful human truth that is:

We can *all* change the stars of our lives!

Blogroll, Consumerism, Life, Society

Abattoir of Hope

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Welcome to this place; the end of all hope;

May be heaven’s gates are permanently opened over this place,

I am a herbivore: I have harmed none, yet, I have been bred on a diet of grass and stale feed,

My mother works in the stocks, forced to make milk; her udders clamped to pumps draining her till all strength in her is gone,

My father was sent away soon after my half-siblings and I were born,

Some were taken from us at a young age to the Great House, from where none return

I was fed & fed, until my legs strain to keep up my bulky frame to rival a Belgian Blue,

And, I was led to join this final queue- from where (like all who preceded me) I do not expect to return;

In the stockades of a night the sorrowful ballad of fellow captives sing songs of a better place, a better time, a proud ancestry (is it a fever-fuelled dream or was it ever real?),

No matter, it’s all over now:

The final embrace of the Life-Stealer awaits me; he will make it quick & painless as possible, it is said among the kettled herds;

For a man used to killing for his daily bread is not, as a rule, habitually cruel,

Great Lord of the Plains, whatever I come back as, I have one small request:

Let it not be as human:

For, while they may make me into meat and eat of me, I would like not to be of them;

Admittedly, I have not seen them at their best;

But, whatever this might be-

I have truly come to abhor  their general casual neglect.

Blogroll, Dinoris Bandara, Society

Dinoris Bandara: ‘Sudda’

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Sudda be as sudda does,

(Like Jamis aiyya: is too clever by ‘alf!)

Understated or refreshingly  frank,

(Like Arlawathie, with a giant mortar and pestol to hand- tharaheng wage kotane!)

With a sense of entitlement,

(Like that uda gedara nona swanning around her husband’s brand new car!) ,

They think it’s a matter of class

(But what’s classy here, is not classy there: like a wesi here, is a light-weight wannabe there!)

Fanned & conditioned over many multiple generations,

(They have the aristocracy, the in-betweeners & the pretenders – and so do we!)

They exaggerate the achievements in their history, diminish the atrocities

(Like Mahinda aiyya, addressing the UN General Assembly- hari hari eka podak vadi!)

And taken root & hibernating next to the core of their supposedly unique identity!

(Just to reiterate: the war needed an end, and an end we got…so let’s move on!)

Creating a bit of an ego & languidity, that’ll rear its head given a chance

(Though they’ll admit to it, not!)

They are the beneficiaries of advantage afforded to them courtesy of history ,

(The foundation of their arrogance and presumptuous hypocrisy!)

Then, again, the world over, some things remain the same:

The young explore for they are naturally inclined to be fascinated (not deterred) by difference, which they regard as extraordinary;

(Only to realise, over time, things are not as unique nor as different as you first believed them to be!)

The old return home for they crave  stability and certainty,

(Only to find, home is not what they remembered it being!)

Whatever said and done be you suddu, kalu or neither:

There is more that unites than divides, the Sudda & You!

Aged, Blogroll, Consumerism, Life, Society

Death of Compassion

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When did it happen?

Truly, I need to know!

As a nation, we are compassionate,

That much: is- a- fact;

We lead the global list of per capita donations to charity & worth-while causes,

And in the wake of disaster and need,

We respond wholeheartedly,

Often, without restraint!

However, in the quiet corners of this nation-

The aged live isolated (even, neglected) lives;

If the curse of debilitating ill health should visit you in your old age,

Likely modern medicines will keep you alive and prolong your life,

Thereafter, it seems it’s down to random luck if you will be entrusted to carers with compassion and understanding, or not,

A frequent topic of discussion of call-in talk shows, which, each time, unearth frightening and disturbing accounts of neglect & maltreatment,

Suggesting the problem is neither isolated nor localised,

A frightening prospect, then:

Which, at its worse, could condemn you to suffer in silence, making pleas for help to unsympathetic deaf ears, or worse till your end of days,

Perhaps even left un-cleaned in your own excrement, to likely develop bed sores;

To face an unimaginably painful dread end;

Where is the imbued compassion of years old?

And-

Why has the death of compassion allowed to become so widespread?

They’ve given their best, only to be treated like consumables past their prime and cast aside!

Lying in a human equivalent of a landfill site (with a marginally better hygienic regime), waiting their turn to die;

Why is this so? When in other (perhaps less developed) nations, this is not so?

Is it a by-product of our hectic, busy-busy, over-sophisticated lives?

Or, does obsession with self, rather than the whole, mean-

We are individually less generous with our time, patience or understanding, than even with our money –

A national disgrace no matter what positive spin is put on it by those in authority;

Who will likely compare favourable statistics with unfavourables, deftly playing the well-practised numbers game;

For, unlike other less developed but better performing countries or societies on this front-

This country can afford to do something about this udesirable phenomenon, but chooses not to;

Because, it should never be forgotten:

That not every problem can be fixed with money and you cannot (no matter what you believe) pay another to care about one of your nearest and dearest, as well as you would.

Blogroll, Society

‘Four More Years’

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A coloured man, black of appearance but of mixed parentage –

Quietly reflective, unassuming, and statuesque-thin,

He came to prominence on a party convention stage in 2004;

A gifted orator, he took to the podium ‘n’ did a most remarkable thing:

He shared his own remarkable personal journey unto that moment, and highlighted an undeniable truth that left a world enraptured and in awe:

‘In no other country could my story have been possible’

Then in 2008, the unthinkable happened;

This man was elected President of the most powerful country the world has ever known;

Historic, to say the least;

It inspired (and continues to inspire) a generation-

The rejoice and euphoria of that achievement, inevitably raised expectations;

What was improbable became possible;

We tied and tethered our sails to his mast, and unreasonably (on reflection) expected calm seas year round-

Though we were all in the middle of an almighty economic storm-

Reality took time to dawn;

For with every great action there is an equally great opposite reaction,

And four years on, another reckoning was called: 

By this time, the optimistic campaigner of old had become a pragmatist;

His unrestrained optimism of previous years had been tempered by the realities of office,

And these facts are self-evident in his less gun-ho attitude, temperament and cautiousness-

No longer over-promising, or grandstanding, or (mayhaps, even) so politically-naive, 

This re-invention suggests he has much more to offer than all the other pretenders to this much-coveted throne;

So, when the man says I have learned my lessons and I am better for it, I tend to believe him,

For a statesmen who is willing to learn from his lessons, surely has greatness within his grasp!

Blogroll, Consumerism, Life, Society

City of Pygmies

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This city stands in grand scale, near-eclipsing the sky

Huge monoliths of steel, glass & concrete;

Testing the boundaries of modernityÂ’s ambition,

Vying against the known limitations of engineering & architecture: 

Like Stonehenge, the Pyramids, & the Taj Mahal, in ages gone by; 

Whereas the latter, were in praise of the rulers of life, death and/or the afterlife;

The former, are altars in praise of the God of wealth, opulence and an overt manifestation of self-pride

Delivered to you through acolytes, filled to the brim with avarice in their eyes; 

Termed variously as ‘art’, ‘impressive’ or ‘achievement’ by its followers:

Their ambition is to mesmerise, captivate, enthral; & seduce you into rapture,

To allow the proselytisers of this new religion to exploit, in converting new followers into believing:

Money, wealth and consumerism, is:

The meaning of life(!)