Adieu

The poem here much improved was originally written in 2009, the year in which both Wylie Sheldon and I turned 70, and was then titled

Born with Difficulty

for Judy and Wylie Sheldon

Most generous of men, when I was

Newly exiled (the second time),

You handed me your flat's and the car keys,

Then asked, before going away—

It was, needless to say, to Greece:

“Peter, do you need any money?”

Old age, the bitch, looms tall.

Mitochondria growing scant

(Take your vitamins and l-carnitine!)

Here a message from a brave old protestant:

No rose as perfect as a rose in fall.

Une rose d’automne est plus qu’une autre exquise.*

*A line by Agrippa d’Aubigné (1552–1630), which Marguerite Yourcenar called “un des vers les plus délicieux de la langue française.”

The poet had been named Agrippa (aegre partus) because he was “born with difficulty” (enfanté avec peine).

And a tragic note: Our dear friends Wylie and Judy Sheldon were found dead in their SUV on Interstate 5 near Redding, California, on June 18, 2026, by the CHP. They had evidently been en route to the Shakespeare festival in Ashville, Oregon. The cause of death is still under investigation, but the ambient temperature is reported to have been 108° or 109° F, and the vehicle's air conditioner was not working. No water was found in the car, moreover.