Yearning for Home

Source:sri lanka society of queensland inc. newsletter

Flawless beauty and pure simplicity
White touched with yellow, the smell of divinity
Lapping of the ocean and the crashing waves
Smell of Araliya entwined with the salty sprays

Full moon shining the path to the temple
Araliya in basket, with the other essentials
Devotees in white depicting purity
Offerings to the Buddha for a path to tranquillity

Temple bells ringing, coconut oil flaming in lamps of clay
Joss sticks burning – smoke swirling in clouds of grey
Unstoppable yearning for the land of my birth
The memories, the sounds, even the scent of the earth

Heart in one land, the body in another
When will these two come together
Culture and land hold the heart in a bind
Soul and land forever entwined

G.M.