I’m a frightened monkey who’s reached the forest,
a tired horse unharnessed at last,
my mind a void to fill with new thoughts;
surroundings are old to me–I see them in dreams.
River gulls flock around, growing tamer;
old Tanka men drop in to visit.
South pond lotus spreads green coins;
north hill bamboo sends up purple shoots.
Bring-the-wine jug (what does he know about wine?)
inspires me with a fine idea.
The spring river had a beautiful poem
but, drunk, I dropped it somewhere far away.
translated by Burton Watson
Leonard Durso 
Such brilliance. Thank you for showing me.
Glad you liked it. He’s one of my personal Sung Dynasty favorites.
Nightmares of The Unattended
sounds like a home-coming to me
Could be. He spent so much of his life away from loved ones that any time he met one was a sort of homecoming for him.
This one doesn’t ring a bell to me, surprisingly, which makes it all the more wondrous to discover today, days after you posted it. Thanks, Len!
He’s one of my favorite poets so I always like to dip back into his work.
Love the title! It conjures up all sorts of wonderful images and the poem itself is beautiful. Anita
Glad you liked it.