Dr. Kamala Wijeratne, SRI LANKA

ICONS

In her babyhood

she was given dolls

to kiss and cuddle

to bathe and dress

to play with and sleep with

wasn’t she after all

going to be a wife

a mother and a mother’s mother

nursing husband, children

and their children?

To her brother they gave guns

air guns, water guns

guns that spluttered

and guns that splattered

water and paper

all over the courtyard

guns that touched her forehead

and said, ‘Fall, fall down’

She fell down and picked herself up

and pulled the gun from his hands

and told him,

“It’s your turn now

You fall down.”

he fell down

and picked up the doll

from the floor

and threw it on her face

She shot the doll through and through.

DAUGHTER AND SON

When she was born

mother was much cast down

she so much wanted a son,

to carry on the family name

to prop up the ancestral home

but here she had born

a hapless female

who needed going after

to be chaperoned and watched over

until safely delivered

into the hands of a young man.

Then she had a son

the heir long waited for

he was born fulfillment and hope

she thought herself supremely blessed

and held her head high

and above the rest

she showered everything on the son

choicest food at table

the most expensive clothes

the best school, best tutor

and best of everything.

The daughter of course

was second best,

she had to wait her turn

wasn’t she girl after all?

The son took the best of the dower

rode and played with the fashionable

soon, the ancestral house was sold

and the name dragged in the mind

the mother had nowhere to go

no one to succor her

no one to tell her woes

for the daughter had

chartered her own course

and gone out of her orbit.

Out on the road, looking for a home

she was accosted by a woman

who seemed to have won

the world, and she

took her hand and said

“Shall we go to my home

it has no name or status

but it has fire in it

and warmth, it has

doors and windows

that you can open and close.”

Together they held their hands

and climbed the steps

to enter the flat of a

very small size.

ALL WOMEN

The flight comprised all women

the pilot and the crew

could they make the journey true

safe and sound, would

they take off and land

as they should?

Would they bungle at the start

or up in the blue sky

would it be a smooth touch down?

All women air crew

is it possible or true?

will they have the nerve

to guide the plane

across the sky?

Women have never done

such a thing before

can they do such a thing now?

So the tongues wagged

the critics enlarged

the danger and fanned the fear

but the ladies rode the air

and brought the plane back

safe and sound.

Dr. Kamala Wijeratne has been publishing her poetry since 1983. She has published ten anthologies of poetry including a collection for children. She is also a short story writer. She has received State Literary Awards for her poetry (2004) and short stories in (2013) and (2016) from the government of Sri Lanka. She has also received awards from the prestigious publishing house, Godage and Brothers for her short stories in 2013 and 2016. Her poems have appeared in international collections of poetry, published by prestigious publishers like the Penguin Books and National Book Trust, India.

---

Women, Power & Creativity :: Setu, March 2019