The Solitary Goose

The solitary goose does not drink or eat,
It flies about and calls, missing the flock.
No-one now remembers this one shadow,
They've lost each other in the myriad layers of cloud.
It looks into the distance: seems to see,
It's so distressed, it thinks that it can hear.
Unconsciously, the wild ducks start to call,
Cries of birds are everywhere confused.

The Solitary Goose

A poem by the Chinese poet Tu Fu (712-770), considered one of the two greatest Chinese poets ever. The goose, we’re told, represents autumn. The poem, however, is about exile. It was written as Tu Fu journeyed back to his birthplace, a journey that started in 765 and was never completed.