A MEANINGLESS ENCOUNTER

(After Tu Fu)

Clouds stretch from the sky

to the lake, as if they would

swallow it. Gulls circle,

then drift away.

A chill in the air says

another summer has gone.

I look in a mirror.

I look old. It seems wrong.

I watch a girl walk

through the falling leaves.

She gazes at a darkening sky.

Is she thinking of the clouds,

or the heavens beyond?

Whichever it is,

her attention is on the sky,

and in a few seconds

she’s passed me by.

x

x

I THINK OF WHAT’S GONE

(After Mei Yao Chen)

This night is bitter.

I sit alone in my room.

I rub my heavy eyelids.

I turn the pages of a book,

and try to read,

but quit after a brief look.

As the hours slowly pass,

moonlight drifts in,

collecting as dust would

on an hourglass.

When I sleep,

I dream of my youth,

what I hoped to achieve,

but never began.

At least my wife is dead.

Her dreams are done.

She had faith in me.

She didn’t live to see

what I’ve become.

x

x

George Freek’s poem “Written At Blue Lake” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His poem “Enigmatic Variations” was also recently nominated for Best of the Net. His collection “Melancholia” is published by Red Wolf Editions.