A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.

夏の夜は水まさればやあまのがはながるる月のかげもとどめぬ

natsu no yo wa mizu masareba ya ama no kawa nagaruru tsuki no kage mo todomenu

On a summer night Perhaps, because the waters are so fine Of the River of Heaven? Drifting, the moon’s Face, too, tarries not.

Anonymous