Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
ながからむ
Taikenmon’in no Horikawa · 待賢門院堀河
ながからむ
心も知らず
黒髪の
みだれて今朝は
ものをこそ思へ
Historical kana
ながからむ
こころもしらず
くろかみの
みだれてけさは
ものをこそおもへ
Original English translation
I do not know whether your heart will last; this morning my black hair is tangled, and so are my thoughts.
History and context
Horikawa served in the household of Taikenmon’in. The Senzaishū love poem uses the morning after a meeting to ask whether present intimacy guarantees future constancy.
Imagery and wordplay
Long hair anticipates a long-lasting heart. Physical disorder gives shape to doubt.
Senzaishū · 千載集恋三801
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.