2020
“Even in the stormiest weather, I was not afraid to sail. As my ship was always navigated by ELSL. So, I had faith”
Inura Dewasinghe.
VVV Battle of the Bards 2020 1st place
Mourning of a scarlet woman
I was a perfect lass,
Who had everything wanted.
I could remember the colourful frocks
I always used to wear.
I was like a bird, bird that flies in the summer sky.
When I got older, something started happening in my life,
thought it was love, but I was so dumb!
It was nothing! But a storm destroyed everything I had.
Regret! But, I should’ve known.
I left everything, and flew away with him.
I came here, with a torn green dress.
He left me here, without blowing a kiss.
Nor looking at my eyes,
Nor telling “good bye!”
It was a brothel, not an orphanage like I imagined.
I got new clothes, all was scarlet.
And a new room, thought it was to sleep!
My room was a brown one, with no windows to look out
So it was dim and full of heat, making all boiled!
First months I spent cryin’ , suffering with the pain every night.
Struggling with disorders all the time.
Then got used to?
Nah! Still cryin’,
but nobody hears me cryin’.
Men are pleasured with me,
but not me, I loathe you all.
Fifteen years are gone!
Am lying on the bed alone.
My scarlet dresses are faded by now.
I neither smell nor look good,
My body is aching and my skin is wounded,
and the beauty is gone!
Why should I live anymore?
I wanna rest in the church’s graveyard,
with the blessing of Amen!
“Only if the clergy allows”
I wanna get rid of this life, so I kiss a forbidden fruit,
HEMLOCK.
Will I be taken to the God?
Last night a dream I saw.
An angel comes and raises me up
Higher! Higher!! Higher!!!
Like a summer bird as a kid I saw.
Before stepping in to the heaven,
A storm, we were caught.
I fell down, deeper and deeper!
To the hell, full of demons
I woke up, was afraid.
I Am leaving my body and ‘tis burning,
I feel.
Wish I hadn’t done it but too late even to think!
Wanna pray but dunno hymns!
I have suffered with the worst pains ever.
So, dying is the sweetest thing that’ll happen to me ever.
I hear someone’s coming, towards my room.
Though ‘tis usual, my heartbeat increases.
May be that’s the angel or a demon I saw!
To take me?
Two people are coming, I hear! May be two demons,
‘cause angels don’t walk.
Foot sounds getting closer and I’m closing my eyes.
Want to say “hello”, but my mouth is mute.
Then I heard the last words, I heard in ma life.
Knock! Knock!! Knock!!!
“There’s a John for you!”
-Inura Dewasinghe.
“ELSL is the rock, on which I laid the foundation of my Poetic Castle”
Nelie Weligamaarachchi,
VVV Battle of the Bards 2020 2nd place
The Girl with the Lantern
Dark is the wilderness, dark as coal,
The werewolves howl as the moon full shone,
Shepherds lay still for the day is yet to come,
Nobody wanders, no one dares,
For in the woods unknown, creeps a girl,
With a lantern in her hand.
Her silent steps, no twigs do break,
As the mist clung in a midnight sway,
Thereby wanders the midnight shrew,
Her eerie moans and nightmare cries,
Her lantern swings in never ending creaks,
In the shadows she walks in her hazy white dress.
Never have people returned from the woods,
Those who dared and those who were lost,
What she did to them, nobody knows,
In the deep forest does she wander lurking in the mist,
Some say she wore a crown of gold,
The little girl with the lantern in her hand.
The buds she touched, never did they bloom,
Her sad fate, nobody knows,
She wandered about in a crazy spasm,
For nobody knows what brought her here,
The mystical woods where nobody returned,
For there lies the wandering girl.
‘A lie! A tale!’ cried the wise old shepherds,
But there she was, her lantern swinging,
Her rich jewels lay forgotten,
Her once worn gown, now a misty nightdress.
The crown she wore, to her mother, it belonged,
The little girl with a princess's crown.
There she was, fated to hate,
She took it all in with her heart and soul,
The woods does she dominate, her kingdom and fate,
Everybody fears her, for her cackling laughs,
Echoed through the forest dark and deep,
The mystical girl with a damned fate.
She died young, the little girl, her real truth now lay forgotten,
But now she’s born, where she died, a phantom,
Born to snatch souls of the wretched,
Nightmares does she cast with her swinging lamp,
Her bare feet trampled the tender plants,
The wretched girl with eerie cries.
Far away was a kingdom, bright and cheery,
The prince now sits on a throne not meant for him,
His father the king watches from his towers,
For his little girl who ran away,
As his stepson banished her to fate,
The little girl with a past life.
The little girl now filled with vengeance,
Wanders in search of souls with a swinging lamp,
Her past not forgotten, yet she’s a princess,
A princess with a black heart and a misty soul,
Her hatred and pain devour anyone who dares,
To wander the woods of the girl with the lamp.
- by Nelie Maleena Weligamaarachchi
“ELSL has been a great strength for me to improve my knowledge of English Literature since the sources available to learn the subject is limited. ELSL is a great learning tool for students who are struggling to grasp the subject of English Literature. “
Vethum Amarathunga
VVV Battle of the Bards 2020 3rd place
The Invisible Foe
Humans have seen many enemies at times
Killing, vandalizing and committing many other crimes,
But then in the middle of century twenty-one
Came an enemy which could kill anyone.
This assassin was unlike the other foes
It could catch you while you breathe through your nose,
It was deadly but small, spread fast but silent
And its invasion was unexpectedly violent.
It forced us to wash our hands and wear a mask,
And endure staying in our homes which was a difficult task.
It started spreading out steadily at a snail’s pace
But then conquered the whole world as if it was a race.
This foe ignored age, caste, status or race
So it could prey on anyone at anyplace,
It crippled the industry and economy around the globe
But it was not to be seen as it was a microbe.
Although this pathogen was framed as a foe
It did teach humanity many things unknown before,
Its ability to terrorize even the world's superpowers
Proves that man cannot overpower nature's dictatorial towers.
Though its invasion seemed to spell the world's end
It instead gave the world some time to mend,
As humans were completely restricted to their abode
Destruction and pollution were rapidly slowed.
Despite the cruelty to us which is hurled
It was greatly kind towards the rest of the world,
It was a curse, yet it was a blessing, so
It's a mystery if the coronavirus was friend or foe.
-Vethum Amarathunga
2019
“I had faith in my next chapter because ELSL was its author”
Pathumika Tathsarani,
Advanced poetry competition winner - 2019
Unfinished
– a conversation with God
Why my dear almighty, did you leave a door
Hanging between her extremities?
Were you lazy? Did you forget?
Or, did you purposely leave her unfinished?
She thought 'tis a pitstop for men,
That need a place to rest.
A deserted frame, vacant enough for guests,
but none who comes is willing to stay.
But my dear almighty,
Down the hall towards the sacred room
She found God
Sitting inside her, smiling.
It is the sight of confinement
- Pathumika Tathsarani
“ELSL helped me by revealing my poetic skills and encouraged me to follow my passion.”
Samanali Vihara,
Intermediate poetry competition winner - 2019
Alone
Being all alone,
His own thoughts became a deadly cyclone,
But one thing for sure he knows;
That time won’t stop as he wants.
He hopes that his future will be bright.
And feels thirsty for some light.
He knows that he should fight.
And get rid of the dark nights.
- Samanali Vihara
“I am glad to say that ELSL helped me to improve my English knowledge and understanding of Literature, which I think, is not only a subject but life itself. It guides us to realize the humankind and the society in which we live. And, the credit goes to my lovely sir who motivated and encouraged me to make my dream come true.”
Sadini Senarathne