Left.
いかでもと思し妹が有樣は語る人までなつかしきかな
| ikade mo to omoishi imo ga arisama wa kataru hito made natsukashiki kana |
Somehow, She has filled my thoughts, and When she is described, Even the one telling me Seems more dear! |
629.
Right.
雲間より聲を殘して歸る鳫聞かずはかゝる眺めせましや
| kumoma yori koe o nokoshite kaeru kari kikazu wa kakaru nagamesemashi ya |
From out the space between the clouds Linger the cries Of geese, homeward bound; Had I not heard them, I would not be so sunk in thought! |
630
The Gentlemen of the Right state: the use of the diction of ‘description’ (arisama) in the Left’s poem is inappropriate for the style of the poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: the Right’s poem is no more than a pedestrian poem on homeward-bound geese.
Shunzei’s judgement: The Left certainly does sound most mundane and unpoetic. As for the Right, while it seems like an evocative poem addressed to the topic of homeward-bound geese, is it not difficult for geese, or people, to leave behind their cries? In addition, it is unclear what sort of thoughts it is that occupy the poet. Both poems’ style lacks clarity. Thus, they are comparable and the round must tie.