“Mr. October” by Yakov Azriel

How difficult it is for me to see
you getting dressed, to watch you leave my bed
and walk away. I know what lies ahead
of me — a gypsy lady told me she
had seen my future in the stars: my key
to happiness would be a man who led
a double life. Like you. And what she said
came true. I know what lies ahead of me.

For she foresaw this man, my lucky star,
would fade once autumn came; she said without
his light, I’d stumble in the dark, I’d know
the dimness of an empty sky. You are
that star the fortune-teller talked about —
how difficult it is to see you go.

—–

Yakov Azriel was born in New York and came to live in Israel at the age of 21. He has published five full-length books of poetry in the US, the latest being Closet Sonnets: The Life of G.S. Crown (1950-2021), which was published by Sheep Meadow Press in November 2017.  Over 500 of his poems have been published in journals and magazines in the US, the UK, Israel and online. In addition, his poems have won twenty-four prizes in international poetry competitions.