despite his trembling limbs
the old man was now enjoying himself
as he had not enjoyed himself
since the days of his childhood

he knew in his remaining life span
it would not matter much what happened to him
the one thing that mattered was
that he had not lived a dull life

and that in death
there would be no reproaches
such knowledge was magnificent for putting his
mind at ease

the air around his trembling head became
brighter and brighter every time he smiled
the absence of news about his children troubled him
but not very seriously because

he had a strong faith which believed that they
would be capable to manage the problems of their lives
but that if they failed to do so
it would be because fate had its own reasons

and because he was an old man and had lived
all his life in simplicity close to nature
he had gained a wisdom and a knowledge
which none of his family was able to share

it seemed to him a pity that if people must die
death did not just take away bitches and fools only
he did not think death to be particularly dangerous
because death comes only once

there were days when he found his face was a mask
and he had nowhere to hang it
then he got lost in memories in the acceptance
of them slowly fading away yielding for emptiness

occasionally he had been very happy
but never more than when he returned home
from the horrors of war and his eyes caught the sight
of a beautiful butterfly hovering over a pink rose

he felt a bit ashamed that he nowadays
was more fond of his dogs than of his own kin
the closeness of them sleeping outstretched
at his side gave him great comfort

and he was at peace because his mind was occupied
with a thousand details and because he got used
to his spasms - no one knew better than he himself
that in all his life he had not spent much time

to think of himself or to feel lonely
the only flaw he had found that there
at times was the horror of war
but now he felt completely at ease.