{"id":37135,"date":"2012-04-04T18:51:19","date_gmt":"2012-04-04T18:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=37135"},"modified":"2012-04-04T18:59:30","modified_gmt":"2012-04-04T18:59:30","slug":"you-are-far-far-away-yet-so-near-happy-birthday-lasantha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/you-are-far-far-away-yet-so-near-happy-birthday-lasantha\/","title":{"rendered":"You Are Far, Far Away – Yet So Near \u2026. Happy Birthday Lasantha !"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sunalie Ratnayake<\/a><\/span> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Remembering Lasantha<\/p><\/div>When leaves shudder, on a windy night,
\nWhere the shimmering moon peeps through\u2026
\nAnd the owl of the night makes a cautious move,
\nYou are far, far away – yet so near\u2026<\/p>\n

When the ceiling fan, twirl the pages through,
\nOf newspapers on the glass-topped scruffy desk\u2026
\nAnd the chewed-up pens stare from their verge,
\nLonging their common gnaw, during work at it\u2019s best\u2026<\/p>\n

Picture frames hang, all around your office walls,
\nDear ones smiling through casings of glass\u2026
\nYour childhood snapshot, vivid out of all,
\nTells you\u2019re somewhere dear, and surpassed\u2026<\/p>\n

The passageway seem too bare,
\nVoid of that two-inch footwear\u2026
\nThat otherwise would give a hastening walk,
\nBlack, unrefined, yet potent, alerting staff folks\u2026<\/p>\n

Just the sound of that wader,
\nSaid there\u2019s stories so focal\u2026
\nThat needed to hit pages, their deadlines met,
\nNext day, became the \u201cking\u2019s\u201d utter best pest\u2026<\/p>\n

The hassle and bussle, of the city may persist,
\nEach day unfolding miseries in a row\u2026
\nThe common-man, whom you saw mostly suffer,
\nStill aches the \u2018acts\u2019 of scoundrels, – \u2018acts\u2019 no more resisted\u2026<\/p>\n

The scoundrels as always flee,
\nArraying\u00a0 from citadel, to the street\u2026
\nThe \u201cmammoth\u201d burst in glee, while the \u201cminute\u201d burn in blaze,
\nYou not being around – in someway, \u201cboth\u201d remain at mere ease\u2026<\/p>\n

Downstairs in the press, newsprint rush through process,
\nIt\u2019s machinery operates with thy cause\u2026
\nSuranimala no more, with mucky politics of distress,
\nAs \u201cState\u2019s Machinery\u201d operated with no flaws\u2026<\/p>\n

Suranimala, Suranimala\u2026 your column still wails,
\nThe same grandiose effect, no longer thy holds\u2026
\n\u201cUnbowed and Unafraid\u201d, Suranimala once stayed,
\nUntil the day, amidst flowers, in a coffin he laid\u2026<\/p>\n

The biggest joke, was the humongous wreath,
\nThat rushed with a tag, with \u201cHis Excellency\u2019s\u201d moniker\u2026
\nThe \u201cFinal-Ed\u201d clearly states, the culprit of your last breath,
\nAnd here we go storming, with condolences so comical\u2026<\/p>\n

As another year goes by,
\nWith no \u2018Gatto\u2019 from the \u2018Fab\u2019\u2026
\nIt\u2019s pineapples you picked,
\nReminds your childlike acts\u2026
\nFrom cakes we brought in,
\nWith the money you gave\u2026
\nWe celebrated birthdays,
\nOf your\u2019s and the rest\u2026
\nIn the midst of key copies,
\nLying at your desk\u2026
\nEach day was a boogie,
\nWe looked forward to take\u2026<\/p>\n

A boogie with challenges,
\nWith meaning and reflection\u2026
\nThose days bygone, are missed,
\nAt it\u2019s best\u2026
\nAbove all, it\u2019s your absence,
\nThat kills us all over, I bet\u2026
\nEspecially on your birthday,
\nYou are lying deep at rest\u2026<\/p>\n

My voice trembles, like in no other day,
\nWhen I wish you \u2018Happy Birthday\u2019,
\nIn a thought, far, far away\u2026
\nThat mingles in the air, and holds your trace,
\nReminding me again, you are only taking a \u2018break\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n

The \u2018break\u2019 you forgot to ever, ever take,
\nOn your mission on earth, to make it a far better place\u2026
\nHappy Birthday Dear Lasantha ! – You are far, far away,
\nYet you are near, and dear – In all hearts you ever graced \u2026<\/p>\n

Birthdays may come, and they may go,
\nSome may remember, and some not so\u2026
\nYet, the lessons of \u2018print; and \u2018life\u2019 both alike,
\nWhat you taught us can never be departed from life\u2026
\nHappy Birthday once again ! – I just hope you may hear,
\nYou are far, far away – Yet so near !<\/p>\n

[April 5, 2012]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Sunalie Ratnayake<\/p><\/div>\n

*Sunalie Ratnayake is a Sri Lankan born journalist based in Los Angeles, who could be reached at \u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>sunalie.secretandbeyond@yahoo.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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