I Saw Upon Faces

I saw upon faces
Yellowed with age
The ancient gaiety
Like dew trickle
From deep eyes down
Cheeks lean and drawn.
I saw in the sky
The aerial ballet
Of a few swallows,
Nearly a refrain
Calling for help,
Addressed to the past.
I heard from the poplars
Subdued whisperings
In the autumn wind -
Once loved rustle,
Now only the vain warning
Of disenchanted onlookers.
So the sentinels of dawn,
Which day after day
Silent wait but for sunset,
From beyond the mist
Of the weary horizon,
They keep watching
The old man make his way
With the heart viced
In the stranger evening,
While the stick
Creaks on the road,
Unmindful of his bourne.