• Vishni Ubayasiri launches debut poetry collection ‘The Resurrection of Always’

Vishni Ubayasiri, a former pupil of Ladies’ College, Colombo, launched her debut poetry collection, ‘The Resurrection of Always’, at an intimate gathering on 3 October. The event took place at the Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) and was attended by family, friends, and mentors. The young writer, on her way to university in Malaysia, spoke of the inspiration behind her work and what it meant for her to debut in the literary landscape.

The poetry collection, ‘The Resurrection of Always’,  is centred around the various forms of love, but more significantly, as the author said, on the fleeting moments of life and the accompanying fear of letting events of significance go by and be lost in the frame of time. Across 50 distinct pieces of poetry, the author explores the intricacies of quiet, day-to-day love and the unspoken, cosmic love that spans space and time. Each piece is illustrated by Vishni herself, lending more to the intimate and deeply personal nature of her work.

The collection explores the lived experiences of Vishni, from the love story of her parents to her hopes for a romantic saga of her own.

Speaking at the event, Vishni expressed her gratitude towards her family, her teachers, and mentors, following up with her handing over dedicated copies of the collection to each. She spoke of the inspiration behind her poetry and how her parents’ own story made her see the world through a lens of love. The debut writer’s parents also took to the stage to speak about how they felt about this milestone in their daughter’s life, and spoke of how special it feels to have nurtured a writer. The event concluded with the waning daylight, as the author went on to hand out signed copies of the collection to guests.

Speaking to The Daily Morning Brunch on the launch of this collection of poetry, Vishni said: “The Resurrection of Always is more than just a book to me; it's a part of who I am both as a writer and a person.

“The thing is, I’ve always had this quiet fear of losing, of watching the good things in my life fade into the past. Writing became my only way of holding on. So every time I feel something deeply, I write it down, almost instinctively. Simultaneously, I think I've also been sort of wired or programmed to be a hopeless romantic of some sort. So somehow, those emotions seem to evolve into something more romantic than initially felt or experienced.”

She added: “Without much effort, I see love everywhere, in sunsets, in trees, in forests, in the way our blood and bones have been designed. It feels like, to me at least, love has been woven into the fabric of everything that exists.

“And when I recognise that love, I feel it. It has its own way of pulsating through me. I let it wash over me, even consume me sometimes, and then I write it down. To be honest, I’d rather call myself a ‘feeler’ than a ‘writer’ because writing is the only tangible way of returning to that feeling. Writing is like my own little time machine.”

An excerpt: The First Gods

BY Vishni Ubayasiri

I wish there were some brushstrokes of permanence you could

paint across the mural of my soul.

An indentation engraved into my being,

like the bases of your DNA that carved me into existence.

The way you've spun every double helix that weaves the tapestry of

my being,

The way you've adorned my eyes with the colour and shape of

yours.

I wish somehow in every life I am to live,

the song of my heart begins with the beat of yours.

I wish somehow in every life I am to live,

I open my eyes to see you first.

For you are the first gods I ever knew.

The first king and queen to claim the kingdom of my heart.

Without conquest,

Without war,

Only boundless,

unconditional love.

And before you taught me that the sky has stars,

I looked up and I saw you.

But unlike stars,

May you never collapse,

And if you do,

I hope the black hole of your being takes me with you.