If I go forth and leave,
they will say my heart is light—
so it may be said;
for people do not know
the way of this world between us.

Meaning

If I go forth and leave, they may say that my heart is light; for people do not know the way of this world between us.

Commentary

Episode Twenty-One: "If I go forth and leave"

There were a man and a woman who loved one another and had no thought of turning their hearts elsewhere, yet over some trifling matter their married life became burdensome.

This poem was written by the woman and left behind before she departed from her husband’s house.

The poem is also recorded in the Kokin Rokujō as a work of Ki no Tomonori, though its authenticity is uncertain, and it cannot be ruled out that it was composed by a man.

Source

Ise Monogatari

Other

Like clouds in heaven, kept only at a distance, all this while— it is the wind upon the mountain where you dwell that blows so hard.
For you, my lady, the branch I have broken off— though it is but spring, thus has it taken on an autumn’s crimson leaves.
Was it in vain that through the passing years in this fleeting world we pledged ourselves so lightly— and thus have I lived?
She may be gone, but does she think of me— the jeweled vine? Her image alone appears to me ever more clearly.

If I go forth and leave, they will say my heart is light— so it may be said; for people do not know the way of this world between us.

If I go forth and leave,
they will say my heart is light—
so it may be said;
for people do not know
the way of this world between us.