Left (Win).
思ひやる心づかひの幾かへり我待つ人を驚かすらむ
| omoiyaru kokorozukai no iku kaeri matsu hito o odorokasuramu |
Lost in thought May the messages of my heart go Time and time again To the one I await: I wonder, will he notice? |
689
Right.
さりともと思ひ鎭むる甲斐ぞなきまだ來ぬ程の心騷ぎに
| saritomo to omoishizumuru kai zo naki mada konu hodo no kokoro sawagi ni |
It may be so, but… With that I calmed my thoughts, but It has had no effect: While he has yet to come My heart is wild… |
690
Both Left and Right state there are no faults in the other’s poems worth mentioning.
Shunzei’s judgement: in the Left’s poem, ‘the messages of my heart’ (kokorozukai) does not sound bad. The Right’s ‘while he has yet to come’ by avoiding direct mention of ‘waiting’ appears to reduce its significance. It also appears that the poet is ignorant of the past. Thus, the Left wins.