Creaking of a crooked branch

By
A splintered, crooked branch,
Still clinging year on year,
Drily creaks its song in the wind,
Without leaves, without bark,
Stripped, pale, tired from a long life,
And also a long death.
Its singing sounds harsh and tough,
Defiant, secretly scared
Just one more summer
Just one more winter long.

Knarren eines geknickten Astes 
Hermann Hesse, 1-8 August, 1962

Comments

scholarbytheriver said…
Hesse’s last poem, which he left in his wife’s room the evening before he passed away in his sleep.
August 28, 2020 at 9:59 AM
K80bcr said…
So poignant and representative of someone we both know & love.
August 29, 2020 at 3:07 AM
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