春の夜の夢にありつと見えつれば
思ひ絶えにし人ぞ待たるる
思ひ絶えにし人ぞ待たるる
- Roma-ji
-
Haru no yo no yume ni aritsu to mietsureba omoi taenishi hito zo mataruru
- English Translation
-
On a night of spring
there you were within my dream—
so it seemed to me;
and the one I had given up
I find I am waiting for
- Meaning
- Because you seemed to be there in my dream on a spring night, I find myself waiting for the one I had given up.
- Commentary
-
Book Fifteen Love Poems V 1382
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the third poem of the dream sequence. Because the beloved appeared in a dream on a spring night, the speaker finds herself waiting for one she had given up. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Ise," was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, Governor of Ise. She served Onshi, empress of Emperor Uda, and was called Ise after her father's office.
The first line, "haru no yo no," refers to the short, fleeting spring night. The next poem begins with the same first line, and the two are placed side by side.
The second line, "yume ni aritsu to," means "that he was there in my dream."
The third line, "mietsureba," means "since it appeared so." Whereas the dreams of the preceding poems increased brooding, here the dream awakens a waiting heart.
The fourth line, "omoi taenishi," means "whom I had given up."
The last line, "hito zo mataruru," closes the kakari-musubi of "zo" with the attributive "ruru," a spontaneous form. It sings of the heart's movement in involuntarily waiting for one supposedly given up.
- Author
- Ise
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Uchitokete nenu mono yue ni yume o mite monoomoi masaru koro ni mo aru kana
- Next Poem
-
Haru no yo no yume no shirushi wa tsuraku tomo mishi bakari dani araba tanoman