Round Thirty

Left

おもひがはたえずながるる水のあわのうたかた人にあはできえめや

omoi kawa taezu nagaruru mizu no awa no utagata hito ni awade kieme ya

For love a river Unending flows; Foam upon the waters Am I yet I’d never perish for not seeing you!

59[i]

Right

冬がれのもりのくちばの霜のうへにおちたる月の影のさむけさ

fuyugare no mori no kuchiba no shimo no ue ni ochitaru tsuki no kage no samukesa

Withered by winter, The forests’ rotting leaves are Frost covered, upon them The fallen moon Light is cold, indeed.[ii]

60[iii]

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[i] GSS IX: 515/516: When he didn’t know where she had gone, a man who wanted to get to know her again sent to her saying, ‘I’ve been worriedly enquiring about you for days-I thought you were dead!’

[ii] This poem is an allusive variation on a variant of KKS IV: 184, which appears in some Kokinshū manuscripts: Topic unknown. このまよりおちたる月の影見れば心づくしの秋はきにけり ko no ma yori / ochitaru tsuki no / kage mireba / kokorozukushi no / aki wa kinikeri ‘Between the trees / Dropped moon / Light, seeing it I know / Heart draining / Autumn, has come at last.’ Anonymous.

[iii] SKKS VI: 607: Topic unknown.