my teacher talks of a sri lankan english

my teacher talks of a sri lankan english
vhere is this-thing?
tons of shakes
peare, shelley, shaw
press upon me,
how to clean rice in english?

unfound it,
in the parched land planted with paddy
strewn with shots of
justice, hate, protest, revenge,
the ending is not coming.

trying in the luscious hills,
struggling in a foreign tongue
no seeing it in the trend of the milk woman
bond with age, toil and pride.

but in the smoky potholed city
slam, hammer, fire away,
stares needn't deter you,
avoid buses but.

~Sumathy is involved with theatre and filmmaking while teaching at the Department of English, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. This poem is from her recent like myth and mother (Sirahununi, 2008).