声はして涙は見えぬ郭公
わが衣手のひづをからなむ
わが衣手のひづをからなむ
- Roma-ji
-
Koe wa shite namida wa mienu hototogisu
waga koromode no hizu o karanamu - English Translation
-
Your voice I hear,
but never see your tears,
o cuckoo crying—
take, then, my sleeves instead,
soaked through with falling tears.
- Meaning
- I hear your voice but cannot see your tears, O cuckoo; then take my sleeves, soaked through with tears.
- Commentary
-
Book III, Summer Poems
Though the cuckoo’s cry is heard, its tears are unseen. The poet offers his own tear-soaked sleeves instead, as if to lend his sorrow to the bird.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
- 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.
- From mountain depths, the cuckoos come and cry, one after another— as though asking aloud, who among them surpasses all.
- Do not now return to the mountains, cuckoo bird— you have come at last; as long as your voice endures, cry here at my dwelling.