Left (Tie).
果てもなく行方も更に知らざりし戀の限りは今宵也けり
| hate mo naku yukue mo sara ni shirazarishi koi no kagiri wa koyoi narikeri |
Where lay the end, and What would become of it I did not know: The full extent of our love Was this night alone. |
699
Right.
明けば又逢はぬ物故君戀ふといさめし人にかくと知らせむ
| akeba mata awanu mono yue kimi kou to isameshi hito ni kaku to shirasemu |
With the dawn No more will we meet’ My love for you And the one who forbids it, Will so be told. |
The Provisional Master of the Empress Household Office
700
The Right state: the Left’s poem lacks any sense beyond that provided by the source poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: the Right’s poem has little conception as a Love poem, other than wanting to announce the fact of it swiftly.
Shunzei’s judgement: love, where one does not know ‘what will become’ or ‘the end’, even if limited to a single night, does not sound that memorable. The import of the Right’s poem sounds particularly pitiable for the woman. Both poems lack style. They should tie.