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.
- Meaning
- When I hear the cry of the cuckoo, even the home I left behind comes back to me, and I long for it.
- Commentary
-
Book III, Summer Poems
The cuckoo’s cry calls forth memories of the past; hearing it, the poet comes to long not only for those once dear, but even for the home he has left behind.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
- In Isonokami, the ancient capital’s call of the cuckoo— its voice alone remains just as it was long ago.
- In summer mountains, the cuckoo that cries aloud— if it has a heart, let it not let its voice reach me, lost in thought.
- Cuckoo, you cry in so many villages, so many places— though I am drawn to you, still I find you wearisome.
- When I call to mind, Mount Tokiwa’s cuckoo cries out aloud, as though crimson dye were poured forth from its breast.