Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
わが袖は
Nijōin no Sanuki · 二条院讃岐
わが袖は
汐干に見えぬ
沖の石の
人こそ知らね
乾く間もなし
Historical kana
わがそでは
しほひにみえぬ
おきのいしの
ひとこそしらね
かわくまもなし
Original English translation
My sleeves, like an offshore rock unseen even at low tide, never have a moment to dry, though no one knows.
History and context
Sanuki served Emperor Nijō’s household. Her Senzaishū love poem keeps its suffering out of sight, using a permanently submerged rock as a comparison.
Imagery and wordplay
Hidden rock and hidden grief share continual wetness. Visibility, rather than intensity, distinguishes public calm from private pain.
Senzaishū · 千載集恋二759
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.