When I had composed a large number of love poems.
はるる夜のほしの光のかずかずに思ふ思ひの空にまがへん
haruru yo no On a cloudless night
Cicadas
夏山に鳴くなるせみのこがくれて秋ちかしとや声もをしまぬ
natsuyama ni naku naru semi no kogakurete aki chikashi to ya koe mo oshimanu In the summer mountains
On ‘fireflies confused in flight—autumn’s already near’.
かきつばたおふるさはべに飛ぶほたる数こそまされ秋やちかけん
kakitsubata ouru sawabe ni tobu hotaru kazu koso masare aki ya chikaken Irises
A breeze on a river resembling autumn.
岩くぐる水にや秋のたつ田川かは風すずし夏の夕ぐれ
iwa kuguru mizu ni ya aki no tatsutagawa kawakaze suzushi natsu no yūgure Running ‘neath the rocks
Dew on a lotus resembling jewels.
さよふけてはすのうきはの露の上に玉とみるまでやどる月影
sayo fukete hasu no ukiha no tsuyu no ue ni tama to miru made yadoru tsukikage As brief night wears on,
Pinks
ゆかしくば行きてもみませゆきしまの岩ほにおふる撫子の花
yukashikuba yukitemo mimase yukishima no iwao ni ouru nadeshiko no hana If you find them charming, then [i]
[i] An allusive variation on: A poem by Kamō, the dancing girl. 雪嶋 巌尓殖有 奈泥之故波 千世尓開奴可 君之挿頭尓 yuki no shima / iwao ni uetaru / nadeshiko wa / chiyo ni sakanu ka / kimi ga Kazashi ni ‘Snow lies heavy on the garden’s / Rocks where grow / The pinks: / o. won’t you bloom a thousand years? / That my Lord may wear you in his hair…’ (MYS XIX: 4232 ).
Hunting by torchlight.
さ月やまおぼつかなきをゆふづくよこがくれてのみしかやまつらん
satsuki yama obotsukanaki o yūzukuyo kogakurete nomi shika ya matsuran In the summer mountains
Summer rain
五月雨は心あらなん雲間より出でくる月をまてばくるしも
samidare wa kokoro aranan kumoma yori idekuru tsuki o mateba kurushi mo O, summer rain,
Sweet flags
五月雨に水まさるらしあやめぐさうれ葉かくれてかる人のなき
samidare ni mizu masarurashi ayamegusa ureba kakurete karu hito no naki The summer rain has
On seeing sweet flags, when rain was falling in the Fifth Month.
袖ぬれてけふふくやどのあやめ草いづれの沼に誰か引きけむ
sode nurete kyō fuku yado no ayamegusa izure no numa ni tare ka hikikemu My sleeves drenched, and
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'Simply moving and elegant'
