Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
心にも
Retired Emperor Sanjō · 三条院
心にも
あらで憂世に
ながらへば
戀しかるべき
夜半の月かな
Historical kana
こゝろにも
あらでうきよに
ながらへば
こひしかるべき
よはのつきかな
Original English translation
If, against my heart, I remain in this painful world, how I will miss this midnight moon.
History and context
Sanjō’s poem belongs to the Goshuishū’s miscellaneous section. His troubled imperial career and retirement provide biographical context, but the poem itself centres on the prospect of surviving a cherished moment.
Imagery and wordplay
The present moon is imagined as a future memory. Reluctant survival and anticipated longing occupy the same line of thought.
Goshuishū · 後拾遺集雑一861
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.