Richard de Zoysa was a well-known Sri Lankan human rights activist, author, actor, and writer. He was abducted and murdered in February 1990. An award recognizing independent journalism was established in his memory by the UN. Read more of Richard de Zoysa’s Biography.
The poem ‘Lepidoptera’ is a metaphorical representation of a mentally ill mind, likened to a broken butterfly wing. The poet is imploring society to support those with mental illness.
On broken butterfly wing,
your crippled mind fluttered into my schoolroom. Failed. And died.
I couldn’t do a thing to stir its organs
of poor maimed sense to life again.
‘Animal Crackers’ by Richard de Zoysa describes the political situation in Sir Lanka through the drawing of symbolic animals.
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