In Old Gardens

In old gardens
Men forgotten play
One more game of chess,
In old gardens
Dwindling conversations in
Pillow voices,
Mineral men dancing on squares,
In old gardens.
Tulips in bloom,
Once beautiful,
Once mine,
Turn towards what was once a sun,
Now an empty space above,
In old gardens.
These attachments,
Formerly hands,
Shake under invisible pressure,
Unknown pressure from unknown worlds,
In old gardens.
When children play,
Old men once at bay
Are tugged two ways,
In old gardens.
Between what was life
And what was death,
Men once young with bright eyes
Become all they despise
In old gardens.
On this flat Earth,
Once inhabited,
Men die in old gardens.