Composed when it was said that a poetry competition was to be held at the residence of the Ninna Middle Captain Lady of the Bedchamber. 花のちることやわびしき春霞たつたの山のうぐひすのこゑ
Fana no tiru koto ya wabisiki Farugasumi tatuta no yama no uguFisu no kowe
The falling of the flowers Is sad, indeed; In the spring haze On Tatsuta Mountain A warbler cries…
Composed when it was said that a poetry competition was to be held at the residence of the Ninna Middle Captain Lady of the Bedchamber. 惜しと思ふ心は糸に縒られなむ散る花ごとに貫きてとどめむ
osi to omoFu kokoro Fa ito ni yorarenamu tiru Fana goto ni nukite todomemu
A regretful Heart with threads Does seem to be entangled; Every single scattered bloom Will I thread on them to keep.
[2]This poem is included in Kokinshū (II: 114) and also in Sosei-shū 素性集 (16), where in some versions the headnote reads ‘[Composed] on the profusion of blossom when it was decided there would be poetry match at the residence of the Ninnaji Middle Captain Lady of the Bedchamber’.