Agni Devathawi

Goddess born of fire,
setting the whole breast ablaze,
the fire that sometimes burns the heart,
may she be the one to quench it..
purified in the meditation of my eyes,
she comes drifting into a dream,
on sleepless nights, with her tresses,
she burns me away….
O fire-goddess,
goddess born of fire..

To carry off the pollen from a flower,
that is all the bee knows how to do,
but the flower itself asks, by the bee’s touch,
to be turned into a thorn-covered stalk,
and so to protect me

Come to me like the wind,
come and kiss me,
wrapping my whole body, taking in its fragrance,
and then, becoming a feeling-less wind,
scatter the petals and go away…

A fevered, sensuous love song addressed to a woman imagined as an agni devathaawi, a goddess born of fire. She sets his whole chest ablaze, and yet, in a lovely paradox, he prays that she, the very source of the fire, will also be the one to quench the flame that burns his heart. Purified in the meditation of his eyes, she drifts into his dreams, and on sleepless nights her tresses burn him away. Love here is heat itself, both torment and longing at once.

The middle takes the old bee-and-flower image and twists it. Normally the bee carries off the pollen, that is all the bee knows; but here the flower itself makes a strange plea: by the bee’s own touch, let me be turned into a thorn-covered stalk, so that I am protected. It is the voice of someone who wants the beloved’s touch and, in the same breath, wants armour against the pain that touch is sure to bring.

The last verse is pure, aching invitation. Come like the wind, he says, come and kiss me, wrap my whole body and take in its fragrance, and then, becoming a feeling-less wind, scatter my petals and go. He asks for a love he already knows will be fleeting and will leave him undone, willing to be scattered like blossom for a single embrace. Sung by Dilan Nuwaragedara, composed by Tharindu Damsara, it is an intense, image-rich song about desiring a love that burns and destroys even as you welcome it.