The devil is everywhere in Sri Lanka
He is there in wooden masks, with red tongues
And curled green locks. He is there is drums
That make havoc of dance. He is there in dance
When we eat fire and swirl our toes
To the noise of his two drum heads.
He is there in love, in worship wearing masks
Blinded by circumstance.
Yakka Yakka, Devil Devil,
How we don’t need much
To find the little wheels that follow the coal engine.
Like the lips that swallow, the eyes that make love
And the palms that grip
Yakka Yakka, Yakada Yakka.
Even the tsunami couldn’t stop you.
Not even Poseidon and his wrath.
How can a little engine be stopped
When her heart is heme-rich
Circulating vitality from chamber to tip.
Heart at times, can grow horns,
To clip our wings; to fall.
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Published by Curiosity-driven life (Dilantha Gunawardana)
Dr Dilantha Gunawardana graduated from the University of Melbourne, as a molecular biologist, and moonlights as a poet. He currently serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Botany, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Dilantha lives in a chimeric universe of science and poetry. Dilantha’s poems have been accepted for publication /published in HeartWood Literary Magazine, Canary Literary Magazine, Boston Accent, Forage, Kitaab, Eastlit, American Journal of Poetry, Zingara Poetry Review, The Wagon and Ravens Perch, among others. Dilantha too has two anthologies of poetry, 'Kite Dreams' (2016) and 'Driftwood' (2017), both brought to the readership by Sarasavi Publishers, and is working on his third poetry collection (The Many Constellations of Home). Dilantha’s pet areas of teaching and research, include, Nitrogen Fixation, RNA biology, Phytoremediation, Agricultural Biology, and Bioethics & Biosafety. Dilantha blogs at – https://meandererworld.wordpress.com/ -, where he has nearly 2000 poems.
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