Round Eleven
Left
立ちかはる春をしれともみせがほに年をへだつる霞なりけり
| tachikawaru haru o shire tomo misegao ni toshi o hedatsuru kasumi narikeri | ‘The turn to Spring I would you know!’ Reveals, Standing at the year’s edge, The haze. |
21
Right (Win)
岩まとぢし氷もいまはとけ初めて苔の下水道もとむなり
| iwama tojishi kōri mo ima wa tokehajimete koke no shitamizu michi motomu nari | Cracks between the crags sealed By ice, now Beginning to melt, and The water ‘neath the moss Seeks to find its way. |
22
The poem of the Left appears to have suitable configuration and diction, but even though the expression ‘reveals’ is something which one and all, and even I, compose with, I still feel that it is a word which is better avoided in a poetry match. Victory should be awarded according to a poem’s style. The poem of the Right has charming conception and diction. I should say it wins.
