Sri Lankan English poetry has come a long way, dismissing prophecies of decay and decline stimulated by its fluctuating trajectory. Today, the concept of ‘Sri Lankan poetry’ has taken root within the country and elsewhere, drawing considerable critical response. The term itself suggests a cultural difference, a literary uniqueness that distinguishes the category from poetry produced beyond national boundaries. Truly ‘Sri Lankan’ works are expected, among other things, to express an intrinsically Sri Lankan experience. This paper would attempt to identify the characteristics of Sri Lankan poetry based on definitions given by scholars who have written on the subject so far. Poems which are generally regarded as ‘Sri Lankan’ will be then scrutinized to assess the consistency of identified characteristics. By evaluating the ‘Sri- Lankanness’ of three foremost poetic personalities of the island-nation, this paper would also attempt to identify how definitions and rules formulate hierarchies within the broad continuum of Sri Lankan English poetry. While definitions and norms can preserve the uniqueness of a country’s poetic achievement, they could also be discriminatory towards new talent, creativity and sensibility of a different caliber. Syllabuses and anthologies show that the boundaries defined by the post-colonial condition of the nation have prioritized poets who staunchly adhere to the defined norm. Are these discriminatory boundaries are fair? Having analyzed the politics of inclusion and exclusion, the verdict is that the politically defined, culturally and theoretically conditioned yardsticks of assessing worth should give way to a new critical paradigm based on poetic merit. Keywords: Sri Lankan, English, Poetry, Characteristics, Post-colonial