夜やくらき道やまどへるほととぎす
わがやどをしもすぎがてになく
わがやどをしもすぎがてになく
- Roma-ji
-
Yo ya kuraki michi ya madoeru hototogisu
waga yado o shi mo sugigate ni naku - English Translation
-
Is it the dark night,
or has it lost its way?
the cuckoo cries on,
unable to pass beyond
my dwelling, lingering there.
- Meaning
- Is it because the night is dark, or has it lost its way? The cuckoo cries on, unable to pass beyond my dwelling.
- Commentary
-
Book III, Summer Poems
Composed at a poetry contest in the imperial court during the Kanpyō era.
The cuckoo seems unable to fly past the poet’s home, continuing to cry. The poet quietly delights in hearing its voice linger on.
- Author
- Ki no Tomonori
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Samidare ni mono omoi oreba hototogisu
yo fukaku nakite izuchi yukunamu - Next Poem
-
Yadori seshi hanatachibana mo karenaku ni
nado hototogisu koe taenuramu