While the well-heeled contenders

Fight with each other in town

Just to prove

who’s more powerful

who has excelled in life…

On the other side of the fence,

Somewhere among

bright green paddy fields

tiniest little dreams get hidden,

thinking they aren’t supposed to reach

any higher than their little kites

could fly in the sky…

Years go by,

Air overwhelms with the sighs

of the timid souls

who let all their shine go washed away

standing still under the falls…

The world rages so fast

Yet the purest hearts

Desiring to own

the magic of letters

Go unnoticed…

Little people grow up & grow old

Always carrying an undetermined burden

That pulls them back

from holding the head high

as life happens…

And that my friend is why

Literacy,

With all its forms of proficiency,

empathy, compassion,

symphony & artistry…

should touch each & every human heart

For he who is literate,

could literally change his fate…

Poem by: Rtr. Gayanjalee De Silva

Graphic design by: Rtr. Nilakshi De Silva