When the moon is swelling round and yellow
I can sense a part of me that’s being a lunatic
When the tide’s subsiding and rising up and down
I foresee a change of mood of mine that’s weirder
When the winter’s shortening the first of colder days
I prepare to feed on fatter fries and hotter oolong tea
When the summer’s scorching lands and sugar canes
I postpone the walk or work as long as sweat is oozing
When the sky is taking tints of red from eastern coasts
I refill my lungs before volcanoes spout evaporated ash
When the beard is getting grey and steps are ever slower
I’m relieved to feel it’s time to grow above the forty years
When the mouth can sense the taste that’s sweetest only
I’ll implore the banyan trees of childhood to remember me
When your new and happy year is cheering up and feasting
I’m aware of not a sign in flesh or flowers telling me it’s time
When indeed the clocks and calendars attempt to tame the time
We can just compute a countdown to joys our heartbeats forgot