I stand a solitary man
Beset by various plagues,
Wondering if to weather them I can
Even as time reduces me to rags.
“Things fall apart; the center” fails—
I strive to keep my balance,
Upon the promontory. About me wails
The wind of changing fortune and condolence.
Let me not lapse into self-pity.
The city swirls indifferent,
As I persist in my existence gritty;
My world dissolves, and leaves me without referent.
She whom I loved, and he on whom
Depended for my strength
And sustenance, have either left the room
Or edge doorward, to cover left no length.
I stand; but must before too long
Lie down to sleep forever,
Knowing that I was insufficient strong
To win the battle; insufficient clever.
Let time press down on my remains
Obliterating them,
For I have seen dispersed my treasured gains
And seen the jewel fall from love’s diadem.