[34] On Waking in the Early Morning (After Su Dongpo), George Freek

Flowers have lost their petals.
I’ve seen autumn come,
now I watch it go. Robins,
which nested in my tree,
are leaving for their flight south.
My wife of forty years is in the ground.
This morning even her nagging
would be a welcome sound.
I’m afraid to drink wine.
Ghost’s of the past swirl round me
like vultures waiting to dine.
Drunken memories are cruel.
At least we had no children
to mar our old age. Alone,
I stare at the waning moon.
But I can hardly see it.
It barely lights my room.