INDUNIL MADHUSANKHA

INDUNIL MADHUSANKHA

A THANKSGIVING FOR THE FOUR-LEGGED COMPANION

Walking along the messy street

that led to the green

I would halt for a moment

and sit on the bench

that stood beside the canal

to peep at the eyes of the strangers

who passed by

to immerse myself in the nostalgic sentiments

to ponder over how cruel life had been

Only to be awaken by the rattle of the chain

gripped in my hand

My puppy with its warm canine whimpers

and soft howls

would alarm me

while wagging its tail restlessly

I would suddenly recover

from the figment of the wild imagination

that could well jeopardize the whole soul

As my puppy would tickle my toes

with its tiny tender tongue

That soothing feel, that very intimacy

would make me want to start walking again

to the green

Thank you puppy,

for not letting me cease to be!

THE FATE OF A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER

In a glamorous morning,

a gorgeous flower had blossomed

with a ferocious texture of vermillion glow

Glinting dews on feathery petals

bursting in brilliance like sequins

with its soothing velvet touch

Swarms of bees buzzing around

for hunting and gathering pollen

mesmerized by its amorous delicacy

But, a few days later,

in a traumatic evening,

the flower had withered

Its splendour vanished

in a yellowish brown pallor

Petals not vigorous enough

to bear the dews and about to fall apart

And the sepals dried off

No bees to dash above the dead stigma

Thus the once glorious flower had faded away.

THE NEST OF LOVE

The giant mango tree on the rear lawn

towers above the window in my room upstairs

Beneath its canopy, laid on a limb, there is the bird nest

A small family – the mother, father and the son

In the evenings, when the sky turns primrose

with the golden moon peering above the distant hills

I hear some tweeting sounds coming from the nest

Then I rush towards the window

I see the tiny bill – wide open, rising above the nest wall

saying a thousand little things to its mother

who pats the baby head with her soft slender neck

In a while, the father’s shadow emerges from the distance

with some wild berries clipped between the mandibles

fluttering his wings more hastily seeing home

As he lands on the nest, the mother welcomes him

tenderly kissing his sturdy neck

Then both start cuddling their son

They chop the berries with their beaks

and feed the baby with the bits

who gulps them down

while relishing the very warmth.

Oh, I am so happy that I have been

lucky enough to witness this nest of love!

INDUNIL MADHUSANKHA

INDUNIL MADHUSANKHA (B. H. I. Madhusankha) is currently an undergraduate in the Faculty of Science of the University of Colombo. Even though he is academically involved with the subjects of Mathematics and Statistics, he also pursues a successful career in the field of English language and literature as a budding young researcher, reviewer, poet and content writer. Basically, he explores the miscellaneous complications of the human existence through his poetry by focussing on the burning issues in the contemporary society. Moreover, Indunil’s works have been featured in several international anthologies, magazines and journals.