Approaching my 60th Birthday (After Tu Fu)
I’ve seen too many nights
come and go.
I don’t get out of bed
until afternoon.
I drink wine as a thousand stars
pass over my head.
I stare at the darkness
like an incomprehensible book.
The illusions of my youth
were miserable lies.
What will it be like to die?
I know only that soon
I will no longer be here.
I achieved no fame.
I watch a shooting star
burn and disappear.
In my mind I feel its pain.
Anxiety (After Li Po)
I’m weary of looking at snow,
of looking at dead trees,
and walking on dead leaves.
My friends have left me.
My wife is dead.
I’m weary of being alone.
Crows sit in the branches
like hungry soldiers,
gazing at my bones.
I know self pity
is a shameful thing,
but my heart feels like lead.
I watch the sun set.
Night covers me like a cocoon.
I turn away from it.
My shoes stay under my bed.
Although these poems are inspired by early Chinese poetry, they are the original compositions of George Freek.