Round Sixty-Five

Left

もみぢばをかぜにまかせてみるよりもはかなき物はいのちなりけり

momijiba o kaze ni makasete miru yori mo hakanaki mono wa inochi narikeri

The scarlet leaves To the winds entrust their fate; Seeing them how much Briefer a thing Is life.

129[i]

Right

花すすき草のたもとをかりぞなくなみだの露やおき所なき

hanasusuki kusa no tamoto o kari zo naku namida no tsuyu ya okidokoro naki

The flowering miscanthus Grass cuffs Reaped and wept Tears of dew Have no place to fall.[ii]

130[iii]

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[i] KKS XVI: 859: Composed and sent to someone when he was suffering with sickness one autumn and feeling particularly downhearted.

[ii] An allusive variation on KKS IV: 243.

[iii] Shinchokusenshū IV: 245: Topic unknown.