Thrilled by a friend's poetry collection, Takuboku begins to lose confidence in himself. Kyousuke tries to cheer him up, but when he finds out that Takuboku was involved in talks of someone buying Oen, the prostitute from the same province as them, he can't conceal his indignation. Meanwhile, at the milk hall, Yoshii, Sakutarou, and Bokusui hold a poetry contest, refereed by Nomura, to see who will confess their feelings to Kiku, the waitress.
Drinking will hardly help 
with the poetry, will it?
الشّرب لن ينفع الشِّعر، أليس كذلك؟
Können wir denn überhaupt noch dichten,
wenn wir den trinken?
Se beviamo, addio poesie, no?
Duvido que beber vai
ajudar na poesia, vai?
Выпивка нам вряд ли поможет с поэзией.