Image: Unsplash, downloaded (https://unsplash.com/photos/g-CfYCT1kM0) 15.05.2022.
Colonized
At Borobudur, at sunrise,
we walk among the statues
of the Buddha.
Busts rather.
Literally.
Neck to torso,
No heads.
The sunbeams illuminate
the remains.
Buddha spent his life
searching for the truth
till he found it.
And yet these headless busts
seem to be lost.
Waiting till the ones
(the looters, pillagers, thieves, criminals)
who separated them
decide that
they deserve to be returned
from the museums that proclaim them
theirs.
We stare at these pieces of
ruined beauty,
our tour guide
and us.
One Indonesian,
Two Sri Lankans.
Divided but united
in our understanding
of loss.
About the Author: Thushanthi Ponweera is an author and poet from Sri Lanka. Her debut middle-grade verse novel I am Kavi is forthcoming from Holiday House in 2023. She is a former We Need Diverse Books mentee and a blogger for the same organization. Her writing reflects the frustration she feels at the inequality and injustice she sees around her, and also the deep love she feels for her island home. Her poetry has appeared in The Pheonix Rising Review, Versification, and Glitchwords among others. You can find her on Twitter @thushponweera and on Instagram as thush.
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