In our country poetry writing is flourishing at present times. The quality of these poems may not measure up to the standards that critic Vihanga Perera expects. Nevertheless, others like me enjoy contemporary poets.
They have visions and scope and interpretation of their own poem. For instance, I like some of the poems by Ashley Halpe, Regi Siriwardene, Yasmine Gooneratne, Lakshmi de Silva, Wimal Dissanayake, and a few others some decades back.
There are scores of others who relate to my sense and thought. And these poets are not mere legislators of feeling alone. They are thinkers too. To me, both thought ad earrings go together in god poetry.
We know stock definitions of poetry by poets since the Romantics such as Willam Wordsworth: Spontaneous overflow of emotions recollected in tranquility; but there are a host of other felt expressions on poetry by various poets, the world over.
One such saying is by a 20th-century American poet, Robert Frost: A poem begins with delight and ends with wisdom.
We have in most languages more extended definitions to befit the changing style of poetry in world literature.
Incidentally, a collection of poems titled “Whimsical Recollections”, published by the International Library of Poetry (Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data ISBN 0- 7951-5158-6) was available in the first part of the century. This was edited by Mathew Conrad.
One would agree with Conrad that “within the arts, modes of expression differ, but poetry I a very powerful tool by which people can share sometimes confusing, sometimes perfectly clear concepts and feelings with others"
This collection carries within its 258 pages nearly 500 short poems from various known and unknown poets around the globe.
May I say humbly, a poem was written in English by me some 20 years ago, titled "A Subliminal Assault" is also included in" Whimsical recollection"
I was in Cincinnati in Ohio, in the US in the 2001-2003 period.
My experiencing the winter and snow for the first time in my life was exhilarating. It prompted me to write a poem in online submission with a condition that should be written within 15 minutes of not more than 15 lines on the website.
I tried and the creativity worked on me. "A Subliminal Assault" was born.
Here it is for your judgment.
" A sheet of white flowers on Nature itself.
Snow rain on rood-tops, grass, and vehicle- everywhere.
A rare experience never witnessed nor endured
came like a chilling assault
on my nerves and frame.
And yet that let experiences sublime in total.
A Lankan- born Tamilian assimilating
the quintessence of eastern culture and the like,
an entry into the Western hemisphere
was awe-inspiring with
Nature, humans, machines, different though, Yet,
Transparently universal.
Things fall apart when the centre cannon old, true.
But where is the centre in a global village
when the Almighty is all-pervading
transmitting love.
love is god, my dear.
And all mortals in the Universe are humankind.
I hope that it would not be out of place to mention here the International Society of Poets considered the above poem as an outstanding achievement in Poetry and awarded yours truly a Plaque on August 17, 2003.
“Whimsical Recollections” comprise a cavalcade of beautiful and enriching poems.
I end with a quotation from Mathew Conrad who edited this volume:
"Change, regardless of our desire to control it, will never cease to alter our universe and ourselves. It is defining element of the human condition, and as long as artists undertake the challenge of reacting to and portraying their world, they will have to try and make sense of what change leaves in its wake"