You could use the following:

 my $readline = "perl::monk";
 my ( $first, $second );

 # this will get the first item...
 ( $first, undef ) = split /::/, $readline, 2;

 # or the second one...
 ( undef, $second ) = split /::/, $readline, 2;
[download]

Untested code, but hope it helps,

Update: removed the type in the second rule... I need more coffee...

-- JaWi

"A chicken is an egg's way of producing more eggs."