In a cloud-realm with
nothing to take hold of, I
cry out here alone,
longing all the while for the
friend whose wing lay beside mine

Meaning

In a cloud-realm with nothing to hold to, I cry out alone, longing for the friend whose wing once lay beside my own.

Commentary

Part One: Suma

　The Consultant answered Genji's poem with this one, adding that having been allowed such closeness he now found much to regret. After he had gone, without even the comfort of a quiet parting, Genji spent the day sunk deeper in thought than before. The narrative moves on to the purification of the third month and the storm that follows.

　"Tazukanaki" means having nothing to rely on and sounds the word for crane within it. "Kumoi" carries forward the imagery of Genji's poem and also means the court. "The friend whose wing lay beside mine" figures their long companionship. Where Genji appealed to the cranes to witness his innocence, the Consultant speaks from the crane's own side about loneliness, so that the same bird serves both men from opposite vantages.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

In a cloud-realm with nothing to take hold of, I cry out here alone, longing all the while for the friend whose wing lay beside mine

In a cloud-realm with
nothing to take hold of, I
cry out here alone,
longing all the while for the
friend whose wing lay beside mine