Back to the Gardens and Fields, five poems by Tao Yuan-ming ( A.D. 365-427)


English translation by Roland C. Fang

poem II 
poem III 
poem IV 
poem V 

Poem I

From my youth I have loved the hills and mountains,
Never was my nature suited for the world of men,
By mistake have I been entangled in the dusty web,
Lost in its snares for thirteen long years.
The fettered bird longs for its old wood.
The fish in the pond craves for its early pool.

Back to my land I cling to solitude,
To till the soil in the open south country.
My plot of ground is only a few acres square,
The thatched roof covers eight or nine rooms,
The back eaves are shaded by elms and willows,
Rows of peach-and plum-trees stand in my front courts.
The hamlets spread out in the hazy distance,
Where chimney smokes seem to waft in mid-air;
And the dog barks in the deep lane,
And the cock crows on the mulberry top.
My casement and hall are clear of dust,
In the vacant rooms there is ease and quiet. 
Long have I lain within the prison of men,
Now I am to return to nature and its ways.