Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
今はただ
Fujiwara no Michimasa · 左京大夫道雅
今はただ
思ひ絶えなむ
とばかりを
人づてならで
言ふよしもがな
Historical kana
いまはただ
おもひたえなむ
とばかりを
ひとづてならで
いふよしもがな
Original English translation
If only I could tell you directly, without another person carrying the words, that now I will give up hope.
History and context
Michimasa’s poem is associated in the Goshuishū with a relationship whose correspondence had been obstructed. The immediate subject is the difficulty of speaking without an intermediary.
Imagery and wordplay
Even renunciation requires contact. The wish to say “I will stop” preserves the desire for one more encounter.
Goshuishū · 後拾遺集恋三750
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.