Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
心あてに
Ōshikōchi no Mitsune · 凡河内躬恒
心あてに
折らばや折らむ
初霜の
置きまどはせる
白菊の花
Historical kana
こゝろあてに
をらばやをらむ
はつしもの
おきまどはせる
しらぎくのはな
Original English translation
If I pick them, let me pick by guesswork: white chrysanthemums made indistinguishable by the first frost.
History and context
Mitsune was one of the compilers of the Kokinshū. This autumn poem shows the playful visual precision prized in court poetry, making a garden scene into a problem of perception.
Imagery and wordplay
The whiteness of frost conceals white flowers. Picking becomes an imaginative test rather than an easy act.
Kokinshū · 古今集秋下277
Japanese text and historical kana follow the linked Wikisource transcription. Classical poems can have variant spellings and wording in different anthologies. The source anthology reference identifies the version represented in this collection, not necessarily its earliest surviving text. English prose translations and reading notes are original interpretations; some wordplay permits more than one reading.