Susumak Lyrics by Sanuka Wickramasinghe

Until I met you, I waited,
watching the road you would come by
until I met you, I waited,
watching the road you would come by
blue stars in the sky
shone on through that night
because your moon was not there today,
I was left in the loneliness

Drawing close in love,
drunk on a kiss,
hiding in my heart,
you ran all through my memory
giving me life,
kindling pain,
eyes grown wet with tears,
the heart became a void
leaving a sigh behind,
leaving a gap behind,
you gave me love,
and took back the love you gave…. again

You gave me the whole world,
you taught me the full measure of separation
you gave me the whole world,
you taught me the full measure of separation
fragrant sepalika bloomed
all along the fence
because you are not here this night,
its pollen fell away

Drawing close in love,
drunk on a kiss,
hiding in my heart,
you ran all through my memory

This is a heartbreak song about a love that gave everything and then quietly took it all back. It opens on waiting: until I met you I waited, he sings, watching the very road you would come down. The blue stars kept shining through the night, but because your moon was not there, he was left alone in the dark. As so often in Sinhala song, she is the moon, and her absence empties the whole sky.

The middle traces how deep she went and how much it cost. She drew close in love, left him drunk on a kiss, hid inside his heart and ran all through his memory. She gave him life and kindled pain in the same breath, until his eyes were wet and his heart became a void. The title lands here: she left behind a susumak, a single sigh, and a hidasak, a gap, giving him love and then taking that same love back again.

The last verse holds the cruelty gently. You gave me the whole world, he says, and then taught me the full measure of viraha, separation. The closing image is the sepalika, the night-blooming jasmine, opening fragrant all along the fence, and yet because she is gone this one night, its pollen simply falls away, wasted. It is a song about how the same person who hands you everything can also teach you exactly how much there is to lose.