A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.

秋のせみさむき声にぞきこゆなる木のはの衣を風やぬぎつる

aki no semi samuki koe ni zo kikoyunaru ko no ha no kinu o kaze ya nugitsuru

In the autumn, the cicadas’ Chill song I hear; Has the trees’ garb of leaves Been stripped from them by the wind?

Anonymous