Lepidoptera
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January 27, 2019
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On broken butterfly wing, you're crippled mind
fluttered into my school room. Failed. And died
I couldn't do a thing to stir its organs
of poor maimed sense to life again.
of feelers. And for me sentiment.
Occasional small rapture at your velvet
softness and smoothness. Soon the ants of time
carry you away from chalk and chaucer
into oblivion.
Farewell, lovely.
The heavy footed State, which made a mess
of your fragility, called this progress,
should pin you down on cardboard behind glass
specimen of the educated class.
Richard de Zoysa
'Lepidoptera', the title is taken from the scientific name for butterflies. The subject of the poem is not simply a butterfly. It must be a student and, since the subject of the first sentence is 'mind', we can understand that the poem is about learning, or rather difficulties in the way of learning.
Richard Manik de Zoysa was a well-known Sri Lankan journalist, author, human rights activist and actor, who was abducted and murdered on 18 February 1990.
Born: March 18, 1958, Colombo
Assassinated: February 18, 1990, Sri Lanka
Movies: Yuganthaya
Books: This Other Eden: The Collected Poems of Richard de Zoysa
Parents: Manorani Sarvanamuttu, Lucien de Zoysa
Siblings: Michael de Zoysa, Lana de Zoysa
Richard de Zoysa's evocative and insightful poetry constitutes a defining trait of his personality as a gifted Shakespearean actor, poet, writer and journalist whose life was snatched off at the hands of the yet-unknown armed goons and dumped into the sea to be washed ashore in a couple of days. Essentially, his poetry is apolitical and lased with multiple layers of meanings which subject them to many readings. Quintessential characteristics of his poetry is that their sheer mastery in the craft and easy yet-idiomatic diction.
Lepidoptera is the scientific name for the butterfly. Butterfly suggests innocence. Richard De Zoysa's interests are varied; ethnic, social, injustices, plight of women, the mission of the poet, violence, how young children are driven to corruption etc. His poetry is like a search light roaming in society. He is daring enough even to focuss attention on certain political figures/ political parties directly.
The minds of the children are crippled and their wings are broken. They come to schoolwith a maimed mind. Spiritually he dies at school.
The system of education kills the spirit of the child. He can't think independently with his crippled mind. Thus, this poem is an inducement on the system of education The state has made a mess of the child's brittleness/fragility.
After maiming the child and after making the teacher helpless the state calls it
Progress. This is ironical.
The pathetic situation of the educated class is brought out. The specimen of the educated class in pinned on a cardboard and exhibited. The educated class is dispirited by the system. Poet is pointing out the plight of the dispirited educated class. The educated class is merely a display item. The state with its over powering power destroys the spirit of the child and labels it as the educated class and it is called Progress. But this dead class cannot contribute anything to the society because, it is dispirited. He shows a lot of sympathy for the child. He calls the child Lovely and compares him to a butterfly. The beauty of the child is destroyed under the heavy footed state. The state exploits the fragility of the child.
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