Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
夜もすがら
Shun’e Hōshi · 俊恵法師
夜もすがら
もの思ふ頃は
明けやらで
ねやのひまさへ
つれなかりけり
Historical kana
よもすがら
ものおもふころは
あけやらで
ねやのひまさへ
つれなかりけり
Original English translation
During these nights of endless thought, dawn refuses to come; even the gaps in my bedroom shutters seem indifferent.
History and context
Shun’e, the son of Toshiyori, was a monk-poet associated with literary gatherings. The Senzaishū love poem adopts the confined perspective of someone waiting for morning.
Imagery and wordplay
The shutter gaps should admit light. Their darkness appears to take the absent beloved’s side.
Senzaishū · 千載集恋二765
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.