Yathika

From a dark sky, might I hear
a love-story about the drought,
amid the deepest pains of the heart,
I place you there once again,
willingly

At a place where no ending will ever come,
putting a full stop to the story,
mixing in intense emotions,
I write, with a hand that has caught fire and blazed

Once the past has become a mere remnant,
with a heart that has nothing left over,
I murmur the prayers of love,
at an altar, from a solitary memory

A solemn, devotional song that treats a lost love almost as an object of worship, its title, yathika, meaning a prayer or invocation. From a dark sky, the singer wonders whether he might hear a love-story about the drought, the long barrenness of loss; and amid the deepest pains of the heart, he places the beloved back there once more, willingly. Even the pain of remembering is chosen, not merely endured.

The middle is writing as ritual. At a place where no ending will ever come, he insists on putting a full stop to the story, forcing a close on something that refuses to end; and, mixing in intense emotions, he writes with a hand that has caught fire and blazed. Composing the song is itself an act of anguished devotion.

The close is pure, stripped-down prayer. Once the past has become a mere remnant, and with a heart that has nothing left over, empty, spent, he murmurs the prayers of love, at an altar, from a solitary memory. The lost love has become a shrine he kneels before alone. Sung by Krishantha Nuwan Konara to words by Ruhunuketha Dhammadewa Thero, composed by Tharindu Damsara, it is a hushed, reverent song about grieving a love like a solitary act of worship, murmuring its prayers at the altar of memory.