Suddenly the time is here
the auspicious chosen date
the team of horses whinny
the hearse departs the ancestral hall
this was where we lived our lives
until we were parted by death
what good is this brief moment
if we just end up in the hills
the cortege left by the city's South Gate
southward I gazed toward the ragged ridges
the sun went down and clouds appeared
I cried all night in the bitter wind
into the tomb I looked at dawn
saying farewell I could only tremble
into the ground the coffin vanished
I looked up at the sun's bright light
a moment later it was over
even the graveside trees looked bleak
I stood unable to move
I couldn't leave with my heart in a knot
our daughter sensed what we had lost
she wailed and clutched my robe
this is still too sudden
the months and years too hard to forget