Composed when the Naka Chancellor [Fujiwara no Michitaka] returned from another woman’s residence with the dawn, but rather than coming in, remained outside and went back to his own house.
暁のつゆはまくらにおきけるを草葉のうへとなにおもひけん
akatuki no tuyu Fa makura ni okikeru wo kusaba no uFe to nani omoFiken | At the dawning Dewdrops upon my pillow Have fallen, but Resting atop a blade of grass— Is that what you think of me? [1] |
The Kō Handmaid
[1] An allusive variation on Izumi shikibu-shū 304/Mandaishū XVIII: 3559.