Au Revoir, beloved Jackson
The demise of beloved
Anthony Jackson
Brought tears to the eyes
of our nation
All what he did for the
Sri Lankan nation
Was without expecting the slightest reciprocation
His glittering career as a renowned actor
In addition his remarkable ability as a lyric writer
The many an award he was awarded as an actor
Bear ample testimony to justify he was a victor
He was undoubtedly a personality of an era
May be a creation of God to appear in Sri Lanka
People of the like emerge once in a blue moon
He never did blow his own trumpet in a boastful tune
He was one, well read and a historian par excellence
As a singer , he has displayed very good prominence
Appearing in drama, he has shown quite an eloquence
Yet, at home, his personal life, he could well balance
He was a product of the Colombo University
In every field he engaged , he displayed integrity
For him discipline was thought to be a sine qua non
In that respect, and that alone, he was second to none
Whilst his muted body responded to the final call
We couldn’t resist our temptation
of being emotional
We do envisage, in Sri Lanka
the rebirth of his soul
Before he reaches the intended ultimate goal
Words: S.S.J. Fernando
****
Definition of Certainty
…Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought…
– P.B. Shelley – To a Skylark
For hours I remember,
I’d keep craning my neck
Watching the corridor
Beyond the short side wall on my right
And running the full length of the hall
That housed five classrooms separated by four walls
To catch a glimpse of you,
Carrying the attendance register back to the section office
From your classroom just behind ours, 12 M,
The middle one in the hall
Knowing you’d gift me that lovely smile
Imprinted, nay, engraved on my memory to date;
For me, still, the passage of two decades since
Easily telescopes into two periods of 40 minutes each.
On many a morning,
I’d come drenched in sweat
After a two miles’ ride from home
On my dark blue Lumala sports cycle
To see you and your classmates
Sweeping the pebbly red-soiled ground
Around the beathnelli tree with its slender limbs
Leafy in one season and leafless in the other
But bearing sour-sweet fruit nearly all year around.
The Angel of angels!
My heart still yearns for seeing you smile so tenderly
Into my eyes,
For seeing that mischievous gleam
in your brownish eyes as we tease each other,
For chatting with you for hours on end
On a multitude of frivolities
Just like I used to do in our good old school days.
In a world that’s so full of change
And uncertainty,
For you, however,
I’m the definition of constancy
I’m the definition of certainty.
Words: Jayashantha Jayawardhana
