Atha Atha Pawena Susum

Sighs that float far, far away,
those are not yours, they are my longings,
love’s sighs, pain’s feelings,
those are not yours, they are my longings

Your form, drawn into my heart,
stay forever now, don’t go, in my mind,
I cannot say it, cannot think it, the feelings in your heart

Sighs that float far, far away,
those are not yours, they are my longings,
love’s sighs, pain’s feelings,
those are not yours, they are my longings

With your form, spilled from an illusion,
I sit here now,
with a heart of pain,
I cannot seek, cannot think,
your thoughts, or mine either

Sighs that float far, far away,
those are not yours, they are my longings,
love’s sighs, pain’s feelings,
those are not yours, they are my longings

A quiet, one-sided love song about longing that belongs to the singer alone. The sighs that float far, far away, he insists, are not yours, they are my longings, the ache is all his, unshared; love’s sighs, pain’s feelings, none of it is hers. From the first line the loneliness of unrequited love is laid bare.

The middle is the private image he keeps. Her form, drawn into my heart, he begs to stay forever now, don’t go, but only in my mind. And the wall between them: I cannot say it, cannot think it, the feelings in your heart. He holds her image close while remaining shut out of what she actually feels.

The close deepens the isolation. He lives now with your form, spilled from an illusion, a figure conjured rather than real, and sits with a heart of pain, unable to seek or think either her thoughts or his own. Everything circles back to the refrain: the sighs are his, the longing is his, and it floats away unanswered. Sung by Shirly Waijayantha, it is a tender, lonely song about a love felt entirely on one side, its sighs and longings belonging to no one but the one who feels them.