My Country Which I Do Not Know

by. Aravinthan Santhakumar

I am your child though you have never seen me,
In conflict with yourself, you let me flee.
What you have transmitted to me is your skin color,
Your rites & your rituals of which I am so proud.
Everything that I love in me is what comes from you.
Being more beautiful than the “l’île de beauté”, men are fighting for you.

I miss your warmth, your gentleness awfully,
Nevertheless, I will come one day to live with you,
Because I did not chose to live away from you.
If it happens, I will be the luckiest child in the world,
And I would feel to have found a mother.

I have been waiting for this moment since my birth…
The day I tread the land of my ancestors,
By looking at you, Oh Sri Lanka, my motherland,
Waiting for this day will be, I believe, my unique raison d’être.
Then only will my nostalgia come to an end

Translation: Bhikkhu Mandawala Pannawansa Thero

(November,15, Paris, Sri Lanka Guardian) This short poem was written by a teenage Tamil child born in France. It has been translated into Sinhala & English. When we read this nostalgic poem we can see how it is difficult to be detached & away from one’s motherland!