Paul Boccaccio

Halley’s comet appeared in 1910
(And I was born in the following year):
Its period being seventy-six years and seven days,
It is due to reappear in 1986
So I read, and my heart sunk.
It is unlikely that I shall ever see that star
And probably that is the case with human encounters.
An understanding mind one meets as seldom,
And an undistracted love one wins as rarely.
I know that my true friend will appear after my death,
And my sweetheart died before I was born.

—Katsumi Tanaka, Chance Encounter

I found this poem through Harlan Ellison. He quotes the last two lines in his story, Grail.