夏山になく郭公心あらば
物思ふ我に声なきかせそ
物思ふ我に声なきかせそ
- Roma-ji
-
Natsuyama ni naku hototogisu kokoro araba
mono omou ware ni koe na kikase so - English Translation
-
In summer mountains,
the cuckoo that cries aloud—
if it has a heart,
let it not let its voice
reach me, lost in thought.
- Meaning
- O cuckoo crying in the summer mountains, if you have a heart, do not let your voice reach me, for I am lost in sorrowful thoughts.
- Commentary
-
Book III, Summer Poems
Hearing the sorrowful cry of the cuckoo while sunk in thought, the poet feels his sadness deepen and thus addresses the bird, asking it not to let its voice reach him.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
- When first I hear it, the cuckoo’s earliest cry, helplessly I feel, a longing for someone— though no one is yet mine.
- In Isonokami, the ancient capital’s call of the cuckoo— its voice alone remains just as it was long ago.
- When I hear the cry of the cuckoo calling, I am drawn to think of the home I left behind, and long for it again.
- Cuckoo, you cry in so many villages, so many places— though I am drawn to you, still I find you wearisome.