ඉංගිරිය
That Sunday
felt like a gold old photograph
we somehow stepped inside
The morning began
with a road disappearing
into green
We walked where the village breathed slowly
where the trees stood in endless rows
like they had been waiting for us
The city became a distant thought
And somewhere around noon,
we found the water
waiting hidden beneath leaves
singing over stones
We followed that sound
until the world opened
Water falling
Rain arriving
Green holding the sky
We disappeared into it completely
For hours
we moved between rocks
let the water find our faces
stood beneath the falling river
and laughed at the rain
as though we had never been taught
to grow up
There was something about that afternoon
something almost sacred
about being completely drenched
and completely happy
Later
warm food found its way onto a rock
And somehow
nothing in the world
could have been more beautiful
life is this
sharing a hot meal
with wet hair and muddy feet
sitting close enough
to hear eachother laugh
while the forest keeps its secrets
around you
Then came the journey back
The same road
but somehow not the same people
The green slowly gave way
to buildings
the wildness to familiar roads
And then
on the highway
the evening caught us
The sun was sinking slowly
painting the sky
as if it knew
we were reluctant to return
I watched the light disappear
behind the horizon
and felt that particular ache
beautiful days leave behind
the sadness of knowing
you cannot stay
and the gratitude
of having been there at all
Maybe that is the strange bargain of life
everything beautiful
is temporary
The waterfall ends
The rain passes
The sun goes down
The road eventually reaches the city
But somewhere inside us
that afternoon keeps raining
And perhaps years from now
when the city feels too loud
and life feels too fast
we will close our eyes
and find our way back
through the temple bells
and the rubber trees
to that hidden waterfall
where time once forgot
to move...
- Subhashi Tania de Silva
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