Turning back, shall I
lay some complaint at your door?
After you drew near
and were gone, the sleeve of mine
was slow indeed to grow dry

Meaning

Turning back, shall I be the one to complain? After you came near and went, my own sleeve was slow enough to dry.

Commentary

Part One: Akashi

　Genji answered her poem with this one. Something of an old attraction remained, and the unexpected letter brought it back the more; but in this period he was careful to keep clear of such affairs altogether. Even Hanachirusato had only letters from him, and found that harder to bear than silence. With this poem the Akashi chapter closes.

　"Kaerite" is turning back—back to the shore at Suma, and also the other way round, from his side. "Kagoto" is a complaint or grievance. "Yosetari shi" returns her own phrase about giving her heart, and carries the coming in of a wave. "Nagori" is the trace left as the water draws back. Using her coastal vocabulary, he turns it about—his was the wet sleeve—and the two chapters end in the same key of repartee as their earlier exchange.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Turning back, shall I lay some complaint at your door? After you drew near and were gone, the sleeve of mine was slow indeed to grow dry

Turning back, shall I
lay some complaint at your door?
After you drew near
and were gone, the sleeve of mine
was slow indeed to grow dry