Dambulu Sulaga

The colour had faded from the rose petals,
the verses I had written looked blurred,
in all the places where tears had always fallen,
innocent flower-dreams had bloomed,
about a right I have no right to,
the heart was full, exactly, of dreams

There were so many papers full of poems and songs I wrote about your eyes,
the fragrance of the red roses I gifted was still wound into the breeze,
your smile, drawn across the sky, and in my mind I had gone far away,
but when I opened my eyes to look,
you were covered over in dense darkness

On the dark night when the whole world lay sleeping, you seemed to seek the familiar warmth,
saying “come into the Dambulla wind,”
the door of the lodging-room swung open,
the love that lasts a whole samsara, in an instant,
lay forgotten upon the bed,
and every dream I had seen turned to ash,
scattered there at the soles of my feet

A bittersweet, image-rich song about a love that faded and the dreams left in its place. It opens on decay and blur: the colour gone from the rose petals, the written verses smudged, and yet, in all the places where tears had always fallen, innocent flower-dreams had bloomed. Even over the grief, the heart kept dreaming, about a right I have no right to, a love he was never entitled to hold.

The middle is full of the keepsakes of that love: papers full of poems about her eyes, the fragrance of gifted red roses still wound into the breeze, her smile drawn across the sky as his mind wandered far. Then the turn: when I opened my eyes to look, you were covered over in dense darkness. The dream dissolves the moment he looks for her in the real world.

The last verse is the quiet devastation. On a night when the whole world slept, she seemed to seek the familiar warmth, a door opened, and the love that lasts a whole samsara was, in an instant, forgotten upon the bed. Every dream he had turned to ash and lay scattered at the soles of my feet. Sung by Dilshan Gamage, composed by Tharindu Damsara, it is a haunting song about a lifetime’s love betrayed in a single night, and a man left standing in the ashes of everything he had dreamed.