Face etchings

In line
in texture
skin colour
and the contortions
provoked by moment,
in the intensity of gaze
dropping of glance
are birthed
a hundred transparencies;
there are communities
laid upon these features
histories etched in curve
in scar
in wrinkle
unwrappable
as trial and injustice
triumph and contentment
love and equanimity
and also
as unspeakable
incoherencies
best left undeciphered
for reasons of decency
and the sanctity
of the unstoppable
need to object,
to rebel
and survive

[Inspired by the photography of Nalaka Sanjeewa and published in the UNDO Section of 'The Nation']

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Beyond light and dark

So we light
one lamp after another
row upon row
and they send arrows
to dissect the dark
illuminate face
of lighter and lit
and the oil feeds
burns wick
and dies
and darkness recovers
traditional homeland
but in the aftermath
of festivity and fire
in the after-death of light
and the re-encroachment of night
nothing forbids
a re-ignition
a turning of symbol
an illumination
of the eternal verities
the true dimensions
of atman
and the negation of definitive line
and all other errors
light-quenched and lit.

[Inspired by the photography of Rukshan Abeywansha and published in the UNDO Section of 'The Nation']

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Unveilings

Skin-scratch draws blood
each un-layering draws more
reveals much more,
the sinew and tear
scar and welt
the discomfiture we hide
with elegant smile-cloth
and practiced uttering
and each veil-wall
exiles the world
imposes incarceration
consecrates private pain
celebrates fracture
and the world revolves
in its preferred disguises
the preferred speeds of lie
and self-delusion
and we become the sum
of our anxieties
the nothing
of abandoned
commonalities
and wrecked solidarity. 

[Inspired by the photography of Amanda Jayawardhana, exhibited at 'Upanetha', first published in the UNDO Section of 'The Nation', November 11, 2012]

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Rawness

And when you peel off make-up

remove collar and undo button
erase proper noun
convention and taught-truth
sanctioned feel
and tear-propriety
ready laugh and practiced smile
the necessitated courtesies
we are reduced to the skeletal
of primordiality
fear-made and hope-made
naked in absolutes
un-languaged and sparse
in that other wilderness
no less empowered
no less lost.

[Inspired by the photography of Achini Pabasara Ranasinghe, 'Upanetha' Exhibition, and published in the UNDO Section of 'The Nation', November 4, 2012]

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Layering

One weave upon another
a layering of epic stories
of leaf and soil
time-mass accumulates
lost history insulation
beyond gaze
beyond excavation
like slulines
and birdsong
and frames that collapse
in the exhaust of light
heaviness of cloud
burdens of perfection,
nature yields
faces and plates
soft dimensions
and distinction
by and by
to eyes that can lay truth
and unlayer illusion.

[Inspired by the photography of Aravinda Chandrapadma]

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Finger Poetry

Infinity

is a beyond-word

it’s an out-there

untouchable,

like tomorrow,

but a little this side

this today and now

is catchable

in different perfections

where imperfection

of color, line and material

play with finger and brush

thread and weave

to contest all poverties

to mark presence

to mark those

as yet untouched

constellations

made of diamond and pearl

petal and insignia

bead and pendent

butterfly wing

and memory

the perfect pageant

and frozen drumbeat

elegant vessels on perfect waters;

no,

infinities are not grasped

but their outlines

are handcraftable

with finite tenderness.  

[Inspired by the photography of Chandana Wijesinghe and published in the UNDO Section of 'The Nation']

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FAITH NODES

Pierce and bind

a tug-release dance

a roll-over

and over again

pin-point to pin-point

affirmation

testimony of belief

where devout submits

without flinch

and witness wonders

winces at perceived pain,

where primary colour

plays with primary element

the timeless tale

of human frailty

and endless drawing

from the unlimited

and untimate treasury:

faith.

[inspired by the photography of Rukshan Abeywansha and published in the UNDO Section of 'The Nation', September 30, 2012]

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Gammaduwa*

A lot happens in ‘village-huts’
for commonality spills out
of household and hearth
the domestic angst bows low
to collective prerogative;
and so they come together
to celebrate and lament,
heal and exorcise
the devil and devilment
those very-human dramatics
that consume and reveal
brush and burn and drown,
and so in our cities
and citied-comforts
we check it all out
these heritage remnants
tradition-preserves
entertainment exotica
outside the traditional paths
of diurnal density
so blind to A.M. Jayantha Siri
and the centuries that birthed him.

*Inspired by the photography of Hiranya Malwatta and published in the UNDO Section of 'The Nation', September 23, 2012.

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Gem and Jewellery show

Decorator of crown,

beautifier of naked neck

witness to union

marker of class,

gem and jewellery

are made for show,

the ultimate frill

but behind the ornate

the crusting

lance and polish

there is another hand

other foreheads

with de-jewelled beads

undermined names

that are un-googled

from fashionable transcripts

lost in the mud-letting

of cosmetic commerce,

and shadowed in the glitter

they’ve crafted:

we bury ourselves

in our respective

political economies.

[Inspired by the photography of Rukshan Abeywansa]

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Mulleriyawa is a Memory-Ground

Blood was shed in 1562

blood, like any other blood,

in any other year,

here or there or anywhere

but Mulleriyawa,

deliberately 'asylumed'

on account of shame

was bloodied

in the name

of way of life

and by way of life

in the art of war

of have-to-do

and why and when and how

as it is

when invader is tested

and bested

as it will be

450 years hence

in that other 'Angampora'

of the relevant age:

Mulleriyawa is battleground

and memory

of an insanity

that was cured.

[Inspired by the photography of Sanka Gallage who captured a special display of the ancient Sinhala art of war, 'Angampora' by Mahantha Arachchige Ajantha Perera and his students commemorating the 450th anniversary of the historic victory of the Sinhalese over the Portuguese in Mulleriy]

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Song of the frozen sunset

The impossible moment

between day and night

the eminently possible

of love and other demons

sunsets are for romance

and heartbreak

disappearing from accusing eye

and appearing in heartness

of the beloved

it’s the silhouette

bearing kiss and gamble

risk and conviction

rippling in color and water

cascading from cloud and fire

the palm oil of wick-end days

burning into heart

the brands of sorrow

and bliss

in immemorial union;

makers of our final memories

of lucid insanity.

[Inspired by the photography of Rukshan Abeywansha]

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Bhavatu sabba-mangalam

Not in that longed for moment
not in knot
nor bound in ring,
not in the flower and bouquet,
the pouring of atha pan
the chanting 
the consecration of approval
of beta-sheafed worship,
not in lamp, wick or flame
the roll of drum
or swirl of dance,
not in celebratory kiss
the prosperity wish 
of the punkalasa 
the abundance wish of rice
but in the tear drop and near drop
the breaking and awakening
the everyday of togetherness
the hurdles of wrong-word
wrong-time
and doubt-rats mocking
irreversibility;
for these and little else
a simple line to murmer:
‘May there be every blessing!’

[Published in the UNDO Section of 'The Nation', inspired by the photography of Rukshan Abeywansha and with thanks to Mithila and Wasana]

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Yala

Pic by Ishara S. Kodikara

Differently coloured sibling
non-identical twin
of city space
and urban things,
territory of the timeless
the hide and seek
and seek for hide,
target and shoot,
spotted meat
and jaw-jaw
fang and claw,
vistor’s unmercuried mirror
reflecting but unseen.

[Inspired by the photography of Ishara S Kodikara, published in the UNDO Section of 'The Nation', August 5, 2012]

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Duel of the fates

Shadow warriors all,
and shadow dancers too,
one with another
and one with oneself
this way and that
in gesture and step
the bowing of head
for respect or grace
the swaying and stand-up
caress and cluth
free-float and abandonment
where night is light
and day dismal
in the artificiality of hour
and ephemerality of choice
the connecting of worlds
and discarding of prop
unruly in wild-hair ways
in the lost, found
and the somewhere between
of dueling days.
 
[Inspired by the photography of Natalie Soysa]


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