A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, in the Kanpyō period.
夜やくらき道やまどへるほととぎすわがやどをしもすぎがてになく
| yo ya kuraki miti ya madoFeru Fototogisu wa ga yado wo simo sugigateni naku |
Is it night’s darkness? Or, have you lost your way, Oh, cuckoo? By my house You cannot pass, it seems, and so you sing. |
Ki no Tomonori
紀友則