When I call to mind,
Mount Tokiwa’s cuckoo
cries out aloud,
as though crimson dye were
poured forth from its breast.
- Meaning
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When I recall the past, the cuckoo of Mount Tokiwa cries out, as though pouring forth deep crimson.
- Commentary
-
Book III, Summer Poems
The poem depicts the cuckoo crying in the mountains, composed with poetic artifice.
“Tokiwa” serves as a pivot word, referring both to Mount Tokiwa and to constancy.
“Crimson dye” evokes the image of dye being poured out, suggesting the cuckoo crying as if it were shedding blood.
- Author
-
Unknown Poet
- Source
-
Kokin Wakashu
- Other
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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.
-
Your voice I hear,
but never see your tears,
o cuckoo crying—
take, then, my sleeves instead,
soaked through with falling tears.
-
From mountain depths,
the cuckoos come and cry,
one after another—
as though asking aloud,
who among them surpasses all.