Among the driftwood
the fisherfolk heap up, which
is grief on grief here,
how long shall I sit and gaze,
soaked through, on Suma's own shore
- Meaning
-
Among the driftwood the fisherfolk heap up—grief upon grief—how long shall I sit soaked and gazing on this shore of Suma?
- Commentary
-
Part One: Suma
This was the second poem enclosed with his reply. At the foot of the letter he wrote that not knowing when he might write again was what he found endless. Through this chapter Genji keeps up his correspondence with everyone alike, and each letter is a thin thread back to the capital.
"Nageki" is firewood thrown down for burning, played against grief, and joins the image of fisherfolk stacking fuel. It is the same pun Fujitsubo used in an earlier letter, so the word repeats across the sequence of poems. "Shiotarete" is wet with brine and wet with tears at once. The question "how long" states the open-endedness of the days in exile, and the central anxiety of the chapter surfaces here.
- Author
-
Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
-
Genji Monogatari
- Other
-