A Contribution to Remembrance Day 2023
By Dr Kumar Gunawardane
“Death has nothing to do with going away,
The sun
sets,
And the moon sets,
But they are not gone”
Jalal-ad-Din Rumi
So, we should ponder,
Our friends are not gone.
Rather, we will remember,
“The splendour in the grass”
The laughter,
The joy,
The loves,
The boozy babels.
Also, the dejection of defeat,
Of anguish,
Of separation,
Of heartbreaks.
We who remain,
shall,
Hold on to the golden thread,
Of the gleaming years,
Of our fleeting youth,
Riding our winged chariots,
Spurred on by our tribe,
Of glorious lads and lasses.
Note from Speedy.
Kumar is a great writer of poems, and this one is no exception. He loves
quotes. I thought you might like to know a little bit about the poet Rumi he quotes
here.
Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Rumi, simply known as
Rumi, is one of the most-read poets in the world. He was a 13th-century Persian
poet (born in Afghanistan), mystic, and scholar who speaks to modern-day
readers with wisdom on life and death. His work has been translated into many
languages. Rumi’s poetry about death offer insights that can be applied by
anyone looking for meaning in their own lives or grieving for someone they
loved deeply. Rumi Quotes & Poems on Life, Love
and Death are well known for being wise, thought-provoking, insightful, profound
and comforting. He died on 17 December 1273 in Konya. Here is another quote
from him that I like- “Before
death takes away what you are given, give away what there is to give.”
I do hope all our readers will love this beautiful poem as much as I did. Thanks. Kumar.
ReplyDelete"We who remain,
shall,
Hold on to the golden thread........"
Kumar
ReplyDeleteThank you for your fine poignant poetry for Remembrance. It does touch the chordae tendineae and pluck on the strings.
I am not fond of poetry ,however this is very relevant as well as excellent
ReplyDeleteDear Sanath,
DeleteThank you. The secret is to take even the best poetry in small doses; much like good cognacs or malts. Great poets use few simple words strung skilfully to create images or convey ideas that may need pages of prose.
Kumar
Kumar
ReplyDeleteThanks for the poem which is appropriate for the remembrance day and very moving.Our friends will go only when we go,fond memories will be with us till then.well composed.
Hi Bora,
DeleteFriends have enriched our lives in many ways; both at STC and Medical School. For whatever reason, I found it more difficult to make friends at the latter. The fault was with me rather than my stars or others. However the Blog and reunions have compensated somewhat. At each Remembrance I recall with sorrow the goodness of our contemporaries, and how I could have interacted with them more.
Kumar
Hi Kumar. This is Suri. Thank you for that beautiful poem. I love poetry and from my pre teens I had got used to jotting down poems that touched my heart. I am going to add yours to my collection!
ReplyDeleteIf I may share an amusing anecdote in my life with you, I was just 13 yes old and having a temperature. My mother
( who may have taught you being on the staff of STC for over 20 years)
placed a cloth soaked in iced eue de cologne on my aching forehead. It was so soothing , that I caught her hand and quoted "Oh woman in our hours of ease uncertain , coy , and hard to please. Uncertain as the shade by the quivering aspen made, But when pain and anguish wring the brow A ministering angel thou !
My mother's response was to quickly pop a thermometer in my mouth. She thought that my temperature had shot up and that I was delirious !!
Thank you Suri .You have accorded me a great honour.
DeleteI loved your anecdote. Your mother was like mine and most mothers. So caring and loving. Whenever my brother or I were ill she would come almost hourly and feel our foreheads to gauge the temperature. She would also touch our feet; she firmly believed that cold feet were not a good sign.
Sadly, I missed your mother having graduated from the Lower School in 1954. You may have known some of her contemporaries who were very kind and good teachers; Mrs Welikala, Dora Janz, Bernie de Alwis, Mrs Bandaratileke and Mr Arisen Ahubudu.They made school life so pleasant. I still treasure their memories.Your brother was with me at STC.
Hi kumar
ReplyDeleteI too found it difficult to make friends in medical school,mixed more freely post graduation and at reunions.Agree,the Blog created a platform
for bonding and long live the Blog.
Correct me if Iam wrong,you entered STC Middle school in 1953.
Hi Kumar, I did not know that you were my Aiya 's class mate .That means Russell Bartholamuez also must have been with you. He was later the Choir Master . Yes I do remember Arisen Ahubudu.and Mrs Bandaranaike .She was nicknamed Puss in Boots wasn't she ? But I remember only a Dora Boteju and Adela Gunwardane and not the sur names you have mentioned
ReplyDelete.I have had the privilege of looking after many of the STC staff members at SJGH.
One unforgettable memory I have is the the Warden de Saram's farewell concert . It was hilarious with the prefects enacting the 7 ages of man. Your Head cop Jakatin ( a six footer ) dressed as the infant in nappy with a pacifier in his mouth , pushed in a wheelbarrow as his pram,
Nihal Gurusingha the reluctant school boy in a very short pair of shorts
Dr Dayasiri Fdo acting as the female of one of the lovers looking stunningly beautiful in a hipster cloth and jacket !.
Is Arisen (the one who rose) a revered figure or a corruption of Harrison
DeleteMahen, Arisen Ahubudu introduced 'Hela Basa' to St. Thomas' College. His original family name was Ashubodha. He 'purified' the Sinhala language that was being taught at STC and ignored the O Level syllabus, so that almost everyone failed their Sinhala at the O Level! (I think this story is true.)
DeleteDear Suri,
ReplyDeleteRussel B entered STC the same year as me to 1B ; his aunt Dora Janz was the form mistress, a kind motherly lady.
Did you know Lucien Nethsinghe who was choirmaster at STC for a short period. He lived in Dehiwala. His son Andrew Nethsinghe is the principal conductor of the choir in Westminster Abbey and played a big role Ithe coronation of Charles III.
I too remember Warden de Saram’s farewell concert, though I had forgotten E.G.Jacotine’s role.He was the head cop of Wood House too which I belonged. Lareef Idroos with a couple of others sang Oh Island in the Sun and a couple of other calypsos. It was an exhilarating evening.
Many years later my brother, myself and our spouses met at his cousin in law’s house in Ella. She was the widow of the first professor of forensic medicine Gerald de Saram. He was living in the annexe of her holiday home .She was a wonderful lady. I regret very much that I didn’t keep in touch with her.
Dear Kumar
ReplyDeleteI remember Donald Wheatley very well. Yes he came from STC Prep to Mount and we were in the same dormitory, Miller Junior. One day in class Bada P had a go at Wheatley. Bada very irately shouted at him. "Wheatley I will make you Weekly". God knows what he meant.
Several senior boys showed a fondness towards DW and used to secretly throw slabs of Kit Kat, Cadburies and Aero chocolates onto his bed.
BG Jansz, Patterson and Peter Shockman: they were very good under sixteen cricketers. I remember reading your poem about Jean.P in the Blog. Wasted opportunity. Mano's comment was very discouraging.
The Burghers were a very lively, fun loving, musical and sporty community, a loss to Sri Lanka.
Kumar, thank you for this lovely poem. Suri and Bora, thank you for your stories of STC! Someone mentioned Russell Bartholamuez, and you may be interested to know that I met him about 3 years ago at a movie shown at the Goethe Institute in Colombo. I was with my nephew who recognized him! He said he walked to Gregory's Avenue from Kollupitiya!
ReplyDelete