Punishment
A young Somalian woman is convicted of adultery based on trumped up charges, and sentenced to death by a tribal court and later stoned to death in public.
They are flawless,
The believers
The fanatics
The people of the God
They’re beyond reproach
Like the God himself.
Even unproven adultery is a grave crime
Beyond correction
Beyond clemency
Beyond forgiveness.
Death and death only atones for it.
Mere hearsay suffices
To sentence an adulteress to death
In a country where the rule of law rings hollow
And justice scarcely means justice.
Truth, they maintain,
Needs very little to buttress itself;
Yes, it’s true, morality must flourish
At the expense of humanity.
After all, it wasn’t too cruel,
Only her face was mauled.
Even in the sultriest climes
Stones do not soften or melt in the heat,
Nor dissolve in the blood.
Words: Jayashantha Jayawardhana
Noises of squirrels
In days gone by or the days
When I was a little lad
Who was carefree,
Incessant noises of squirrels
I heard on sunny holiday mornings bright
Made me jump out of my bed and
Run to the compound with delight
But, now as a man grownup
When I hear the very same noises
On sunny holiday mornings bright
On the place very same
They don’t make me gleeful
Or happy, at least, as it did then
Have the noises of squirrels lost their beauty
Or has my inner self has gone senseless
With worries and greed fathomless
Words:N.A.A.P.K. Nedurana
Breakable hope
The Sun is shining
Flowers are blooming
Birds are singing
But my heart is crying
Tears are coming
Hopes are burning
Targets are breaking
And my mind is suffering
The Moon is appearing
Stars are shining
Darkness becoming
But my mind thinking
Parents are advising
Relatives are asking
“Why don’t you marry?”
My eyes are not sleeping
Friends are marrying
They are laughing
They built hope mountains
And smiling
Marriage is a dream
Every girl is hoping
But my first love
Makes me sad and worrying
Words: Manondika Wijegunawardena
A pleasing dialogue
Excuse me sister! On this merry Wednesday
It appears as if Sunday is longer than Monday
Thank you brother! Pointing it in a decent way
I shall take it in the correct perspective anyway
By the way sister, your figure seems quite familiar
I have at home just like you , a beautiful younger sister
I wonder brother, whether it violates the fourth precept
Before long it will hamper your position as a person honest
However sister, what brought you here at this hour
Also you seem to be somewhat tired, it does appear
Mind you brother, I am returning after the dancing class
Thank you for being quite emotional at a glance.
If you don’t mind sister, may I have your contact number
If my memory power serves right I could remember
Oh brother! Is that a request made to every opposite number?
If not, is it for one that focuses your attention in particular?
Excuse me sister, how come I meet you again soon
May be on a day conveniently before the full moon
If so brother , See, “ u tube “ for teledrama, Dimutu muthu
Scan F.B. to see a suffix to form onomatopoeia with muthu
Anyway, not so soon brother, but following that at leisure
Nevertheless, the fact remains , your wish is my pleasure
Bye for now brother, my dad’s Volvo is approaching near
Thank you and bye sister, until we meet again for sure
Words: S.S.J. Fernando
Mighty DNA replication fork
The mighty DNA replication fork,
A wonderful creation,
An energetic Y-shaped bubble,
A place where the double helix DNA splits into two, allowing the replication of each other
These little bubbles are surrounded by enzymes and proteins
Performing various tasks,
To drive DNA replication,
In the busy bubble.
Helicases open DNA and give a green light to the bubble
Single-strand binding proteins keep DNA loose
Topoisomerase unwind DNA coils
Primases add primers to the bubble and cheers the run
Ready, steady, Go!
DNA polymerases make bulk of the new DNA,
In the leading and lagging strands,
Keeping the fork speed and productivity
Just like a press that print papers
The bubble prints faithful DNA copies error free
It is hard to image how complex and ensue
The unstoppable bubble
Words: Dr. Meran Keshawa Ediriweera