If your heart were set
and truly aimed toward one place,
would you wander so
under a sky with no moon,
no drawn bow of a moon there

Meaning

If your heart were truly set on one person, would you be wandering under a sky with no drawn bow of a moon in it?

Commentary

Part One: Hana no En

　This came back from behind the blinds in answer to Genji's poem. Hearing the voice, he was certain it was the woman of that night, and quietly took her hand. She was the sixth daughter of the Minister of the Right, Oborozukiyo, already promised to the Heir Apparent. From this meeting their affair continued, and in time it would be the cause of Genji's withdrawal to Suma. The chapter closes on this poem.

　"Kokoro iru," to set one's heart on someone, plays on the verb for shooting a bow, taking up his catalpa bow and Irusa. "Yumihari no tsuki" is the half-moon shaped like a drawn bow, so the bow imagery continues. Her retort—that a man truly in earnest would not be wandering—is pleased at being found and at the same time a test of how much he means it. Two people who parted without names recognize each other using nothing but the words for a bow and a moon, and that is a fitting close for this chapter.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

If your heart were set and truly aimed toward one place, would you wander so under a sky with no moon, no drawn bow of a moon there

If your heart were set
and truly aimed toward one place,
would you wander so
under a sky with no moon,
no drawn bow of a moon there