A bachelor who had grown old
Returned back to his village;
Half a century had passed
In search of his own self.
He stumbled over weary feet,
Leaning on a long cane;
His teeth were gone from years gone by,
Yet he wore a handsome suit.
He sat inside the coffeehouse
And hardly spoke a word;
He thought about the years long past,
Hidden in a corner.
The houses seemed so low to him,
From centuries long before;
The alleyways were narrow still,
And empty stood the barns.
Once young and tall and handsome,
He left his native place;
Captured like a hostage then,
He slowly lost himself.
Life abroad had dazzled him,
He lived without concern;
A beauty cast her spell on him,
And old homelands were forgotten.
Many young girls he had known,
Passing time along the way;
Yet never once did he believe
That he had lost himself.
An American woman, beautiful,
Wearing a red dress bright—
He decided he would marry her.
From the collection's own note: the images with these poems are AI-created artistic renderings by the source, not historical photographs.