Li Yu, Waley, And I Poem by Birgit Bunzel Linder

While your dreaming soul
last night was king again
mine tossed and turned
unemployed and base

While you wandered through
the Palace of Delight
the echo of my steps
found no room to resound

While you strolled down
grassy garden-ways
I slipped in the mud
of the muck-pits near my home

While your chariot glided through
moonlight and blossoming trees
my car's sprung rhythm is matched
by the exhaust pipe in the trunk

While you welcomed spring
in royal dreams
I read your poem
to feel its appeal

While the faint wind softened
the air of night
your immeasurable pain
became my immeasurable gain