I sit alone with my wine,
staring at the stars.
They look very far away.
I’ve reached old age.
I will soon be gone.
The stars are here to stay.
I’ve written six hundred poems.
It’s time to stop. I’ve said
what I can. It’s time
for drinking wine.
I watch the dead leaves
float down the river
to end in the sea. It’s
the same with my poems,
and the same with me.
-after Tu Fu
George Freek, USA
The Social Poet 