Diaries of Court Ladies
adays—'Yes, I do' said I; then, breaking off this branch of tachibana[1] flowers, His Highness replied, 'Give this to her, [see] how she will take it.' The Prince had in mind the old poem:
The scent of tachibana flowers in May
Recalls the perfumed sleeves of him who is no longer here.
So I have come—what shall I say to him?"
It was embarrassing to return an oral message through the page, and the Prince had not written; discontented, yet wishing to make some response, she wrote a poem and gave it to the page:
That scent, indeed, brings memories
But rather, to be reminded of that other,
Would hear the cuckoo's[2] voice.
The Prince was on the veranda of his palace, and as the page approached him with important face, he led him into an inner room saying, "What is it?" The page presented the poem.
The Prince read it and wrote this answer:
The cuckoo sings on the same branch
With voice unchanged,
That shall you know.
His Highness gave this to the page and walked away, saying, "Tell it to no one, I might be thought amorous." The page brought the poem to the lady. Lovely it was, but it seemed wiser not to write too often [so did not answer].
