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Description
Enchantress

Sinhala-dvipa smiled enchantingly
Her bays were wide and shallow
The Indians entered demandingly
Allowed the jungle to swallow
Roar of the lion, threateningly
Scream of natives, deafeningly
There was slaughter and love
Nature did take its fatal course
A nation was born to enchantress Sinhala-dvipa

Cilao smiled enchantingly
Her beaches were copper-tinted
The Portuguese entered demandingly
Thus the beauty was partly stinted
Smell of the spices, intriguingly
Fusion of cultures, ambiguously
There was domination and defeat
Marvels overcome by pure greed
A nation was born to enchantress Cilao

Ceilan smiled enchantingly
Her fruits were bounty, delicious
The Dutch entered demandingly
Built mansions, forever ambitious
Song of the bird, forebodingly
Tears of the women, imploringly
There was mangling and mingling
Civilization hit without an inkling
A nation was born to enchantress Ceilan

Ceylon smiled enchantingly
Her location was strategically right
The British entered demandingly
Crashed in with their colonial might
The clinking of glasses, thrillingly
Groan of the workers, unwillingly
There was progress and poverty
Splendid years for a white minority
A nation was born to enchantress Ceylon

Sri Lanka smiles enchantingly
Her sea and skies are oh-so blue
The Tourists enter demandingly
Money is needed, what else to do
Explosions of bombs, undeniably
But foreigners pour in so reliably
There is courtesy, debate and fight
As this culture struggles towards light
A nation was born to enchantress Sri Lanka

But it's turning against its ancient mother
With a spell completely of its very own
Foreigners came, saw and conquered
Foreigners come, see, destroy and vanish
Back then cultures were enriched, mostly
And traditions were stubbornly defended
Nowadays culture is fakely revived, ghostly
And modernity's damage has to be mended
A problem was born to this enchantress island

Serendip, Rathnapida – Island of the Gems
Thambapani, Taprobane – Copper Shores
Zeloan, Zeilan – preferably Seyllan, Ceilon
Sword, bible and language formed Ceylon
Pendant dangling from India's slim earlobe
Tear drop trembling forever on India's chin
Many-named and much-famed is our enchantress
Pearl of the Indian Ocean smiled too enchantingly
Thus more than a nation was born to this Island