Learning from Quasimodo

Basket

Stunted bent man, like Quasimodo
Begs for a few rupees

And there’s something about him
The workmanship, the richness in expression
And the frugality of pain

I wish I was him, so little to contend with
And still content as a child
Sipping a glass of milk.

I’m my own shadow, the anorexic
Man inside who makes long miles
Searching for the fruits of his dreams.

Maybe I will be content one day with
A basket full of dreams.
And a heart as empty as a church
On a weekday morning.

Dreams are compulsive strains
Of infection that preserve life in you.
A virus that infects every cell from head to toe.
With no immunity to feud with.

What to do with an empty toothpaste tube?

Perhaps I will learn to conjure a smile
And still look photogenic

With my discolored teeth.

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. View all posts by Curiosity-driven life (Dilantha Gunawardana)