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.