You dear one,
Are the moon of my world.
Though not the moon of yore,
But the moon I see today.

You dear one,
Were the moon to me then.
The moon resplendent, pure and serene,
Seen through the poet’s eye,
Enlivening the darkest depths,
Of my dreary existence.
You reigned then, in my starless sky.

You dear one,
Are still the moon to me.
But now it’s the real moon,
Seen through the scientist’s eye.
The parched rock that it is,
Lifeless and hostile.
You haunt my sky tonight.

You dear one ,
Are the moon of my world.

(A poem by Sunil Ariyaratne translated by)
Somabandhu Kodikara
Melbourne