the evening rose

Fading Rose
(The translation of my name Gulab is ‘Rose’)

What a waste is life! All tears and strife
The pangs of a broken heart
Love comes and goes as scent of a rose
And the petals fall apart

What love gave once, life robs and runs
The flute falls from my hands
All listener gone, I roam alone
In distant, desolate lands

How far and away is the summer’s day,
When the god of love was young
My time is up, down flows the cup
And the songs lie unsung

Let life fly back, on love’s lost track,
Make me as I was before
Or teach my heart the juggler’s art
That I may grieve no more.

1988