明日知らぬ命をぞ思ふおのづから
あらば逢ふ夜を待つにつけても
あらば逢ふ夜を待つにつけても
- Roma-ji
-
Asu shiranu inochi o zo omou onozukara araba au yo o matsu ni tsukete mo
- English Translation
-
I think of this life
that may not see tomorrow,
all the more as I
wait for the night we might meet,
should I, by chance, still live.
- Meaning
- I think of this life of mine that may not last until tomorrow, all the more as I wait for a night when we might meet, if by chance I am still alive.
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Love Poems II 1145
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the third poem of the sequence in which one-sided love comes to dwell on one's own self and life. Waiting for a night when they might meet, should she live so long, the speaker thinks of a life that may not see tomorrow. The headnote continues from the preceding poem and gives no topic.
The author is Inpumon-in no Taifu, the daughter of Fujiwara no Nobunari. She served Princess Ryōshi, a daughter of Emperor Go-Shirakawa known as Inpumon-in.
The first line, "asu shiranu," means "not knowing tomorrow."
The second line, "inochi o zo omou," means "I think of my life," the attributive "omou" answering the particle "zo." It is a hypermetric line of eight syllables, and the poem breaks after the second line. Taking up the dying of love in the preceding poem, it thinks of life's frailty.
The third line, "onozukara," means "by chance, perhaps."
The fourth line, "araba au yo o," means "the night we might meet, if I live."
The last line, "matsu ni tsukete mo," means "all the more as I wait," and through inversion it returns to the second line. Precisely because she waits for a night of meeting, a life that may end tomorrow seems precious. Poem 1147 in this book also sings of "oshiki inochi," so the heart that clings to life is repeated.
- Author
- Inpumon-in no Taifu
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Koishinan onaji ukina o ika ni shite au ni kaetsu to hito ni iwaren
- Next Poem
-
Tsure mo naki hito no kokoro wa utsusemi no munashiki koi ni mi o ya kaeten