The temple courts with grasses rank abound,
And birds throng in the forest trees around;
But pilgrims few, though tablets still remain,
Come to the shrine while revolutions reign.
The mice climb through the curtains--full of holes,
And thick dust overspreads the broidered stoles;
The temple pool in gloomy blackness lies
To which the sleeping dragon[37] sometimes hies.
[37] The meaning of this expression is not clear; it has a political
signification.
_A Soldier's Farewell to his Wife_