Micropoetry

Brew My Day

by morning light

When the morning breaks in splendour over a tea estate — Haputhale, Sri Lanka. Pic by Samadi Withanage — used with permission.

When the heavens cascade in spells magic
the light that I catch, shall be mine — alone
spare my one dawn, from tolling bells tragic
brew my spirit tender — warmly forlorn
dice on a roll, life to whittle — borne
in grace, down the steppes of teal mint leaves fresh
steal my sight, feast my eyes — on hues afresh
when blends of tea seep into froth and through
broken¹, orange² and steeping dust³ in creche
the strangest glow brings me closest to you.

Viraji Ogodapola © September, 2023.

• The above is a dizain on the glory of a morning dawning upon acres of tea in the hill country of Sri Lanka.
• 1, 2 & 3 — Terminology used in grading tea leaves. Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings [FBOPF], the finest form of broken leaves, is largely a produce of Sri Lanka.
• A ten line single stanza poem, each line strictly adhering to ten syllables, and written with the rhyme sequence, ababbccdcd — dizains originated in France in the 15th century.