The Same and Maidenflowers

Round Eleven

Left

恋しさにおもひよそへて女郎花折るわが袖ぞいとど露けき

koishisa ni omoi’yosoete ominaeshi oru wa ga sode zo itodo tsuyukeki

In my yearning Alike, I feel, is This maidenflower— The sleeve I picked her with is Utterly drenched with dew!

The Former Assistant Governor-General
21

Right

なつかしく折る手にかをれ女郎花恋しき人もわするばかりに

natsukashiku oru te ni kaore ominaeshi koishiki hito mo wasuru bakari ni

So sweetly In my hand that picked you shine, O, maidenflower! That the one I love I would forget a while…

His Excellency, the Head
22

The Left’s ‘sleeve I picked her with is / Utterly drenched with dew’ is a form of words entirely in tune with the topic—it appears charmingly exactly how a poem in a poetry match should be. Then the Right expresses as somewhat shallow and unreliable conception of love that might be forgotten in the face of the shine of a maidenflower picked and held in the hand. Thus, I feel the dew-drenched sleeves are superior here, aren’t they.