POEM OF REVELATION (After Tu Fu)

The moon abandons the sky.

Stars like tiny knives

shed little light.

Snow starts to fall,

drifting over the lawn,

as fine as silken thread.

Trees are like lead.

My mind feels dead.

In summer my yard

was full of flowers.

They’re now buried 

in winter graves.

Life is short and cruel,

and when I tell myself

such dull clichés,

I feel even more of a fool.