Raise your voice, my son—
let the streets hear your cry:
“This land is mine!
This soil is my mother!”
Your anthem burns bright,
but to my ears it bleeds—for the earth you praise
has never opened her armsto give you even
a handful of dust.
Others carve their names
into stones and deeds,
while you inherit nothing
but shadows of promises and broken deeds...
Not a corner of field,
not a single doorway,
only the echo of your patriot’s song
returning empty-handed.
Love her, my child,
if love is all you have.
But know this:in a world that measures men
by coin and claim,
the mother you call yours
will pass you by—
and you will stand, rootless,
in her soil.
About the Author
Pathum Wickramarathne is an author, poet , journalist, and writer, as well as the founder and General Secretary of PEN Sri Lanka. He is deeply committed to promoting freedom of expression and giving marginalized voices a platform, particularly young writers from Sri Lanka’s Hill Country Tamil community.
For this community, he compiled and published the Anthology: Tea Stained Lines.A trilingual anthology featuring 20 powerful poems by 20 Tamil poets from Sri Lanka’s Up-country community. Originally written in Tamil, each poem has been carefully translated into Sinhala and English, making this collection accessible to a wider audience.
His work spans poetry, literary projects, and journalism, often focusing on social justice, cultural heritage, and the experiences of underrepresented communities. Through his writing and advocacy, Pathum seeks to preserve and share the stories, traditions, and resilience of communities that rarely appear in mainstream literature, bringing their voices to national and international audiences.
