The Vagrant-Summer Poem by Loke Kok yee

From town to town he walked but he never stayed for long
Shun by all and harassed, he would move away erelong
Begging by the sidewalks or scavenging through the dump
Sometimes even stealing, on days when he was up a stump
Not the choice he wanted but ‘twas the only choice he had
Friendless and unwanted the lot of a vagrant sad

He had been on the move, a journey that never ends
What he would find he knows not, for it was ne'er round the bend
His summer then be o'er, what then would falling leaves portend?

A warm breeze brushed his face as he trudged along his way
Flowers teased his senses on that lovely day in May
He stopped awhile and lingered, his weary legs to rest
And watched the sheep grazing, speckled on a nearby crest
The peace was rudely shattered when dark clouds rolled on by
Quickly he got on his way, his brief repose denied

Then autumn mocks the summer as leaves began to brown
Dawn brought a misty screen, drifting by without a sound
In the autumn of his life; only misery abound