A great sacred wand—
So you have named me indeed;
Though I drift away,
Even one borne down the stream
At last will find a shallows.
- Meaning
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You have indeed made me known as a great sacred wand sought by many, yet even one set adrift upon the current will in the end find a shallows where it comes to rest.
- Commentary
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47. Like a Great Sacred Wand
There was a man who wished somehow to make a certain woman his lover. However, having heard that he was reputed to be an unfaithful and insincere man, the woman gradually began to treat him coldly.
This poem is the man’s reply to the woman’s poem: “Like a great sacred wand, drawn by many reaching hands—so you have become; though I think of you with love, I cannot rely on you.”
In response to her poem of cold rejection, the man suggests that even if rumors of his inconstancy flow about like a current, in the end he relies upon her alone. For him it may be a sincere feeling, yet it can also be taken as the persuasive words of a womanizer.
- Source
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Ise Monogatari
- Other
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