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A Hundred Verses from Old Japan (The Hyakunin-isshu), tr. by William N. Porter, [1909], at sacred-texts.com
ALAS! the blush upon my cheek,
Conceal it as I may,
Proclaims to all that I'm in love,
Till people smile and say—
'Where are thy thoughts to-day?'
This verse is said to have been composed in the year 949, at the request of the Emperor Daigo. The Taira family sprang from the Emperor Kwammu, attained great influence three hundred years later, but finally fell before the power of the Minamoto clan in the year 1185 (see note to verse No. 28).
