過ぎにける世々の契りも忘られて
いとふ憂き身の果てぞはかなき
いとふ憂き身の果てぞはかなき
- Roma-ji
-
Suginikeru yoyo no chigiri mo wasurarete itou uki mi no hate zo hakanaki
- English Translation
-
Even the vows sworn
through all the lives now past
have been forgotten;
how fleeting is the end of
this wretched self I loathe
- Meaning
- Even the vows of all our past lives have been forgotten, and how fleeting is the end that awaits this wretched self I have come to loathe.
- Commentary
-
Book Fifteen Love Poems V 1393
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "As a love poem."
This is the fourth poem of the sequence recalling a past love. With the vows of many past lives forgotten, the speaker grieves at the fleeting end awaiting a wretched self she loathes. According to the headnote, it was composed, like the preceding poem, as a love poem.
The author, "Ben," is the name of a lady-in-waiting, and there is no settled view on who is meant. "Ben" is a lady-in-waiting's name taken from the office of controller held by her father or a relative. Other texts attribute this poem to Princess Shokushi, author of the preceding poem.
The first line, "suginikeru," means "that have passed away."
The second line, "yoyo no chigiri mo," means "the vows of many lives, the bonds from former lives." Taking up "kanegoto" of the preceding poem, it continues the word for promises.
The third line, "wasurarete," means "being forgotten by the other."
The fourth line, "itou uki mi no," means "of this wretched self I loathe."
The last line, "hate zo hakanaki," closes the kakari-musubi of "zo" with the attributive "hakanaki." Where the preceding poem looked back on past grief, this one looks toward the end of a forgotten self, setting past and future side by side.
- Author
- Ben
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Hakanaku zo shiranu inochi o nagekikoshi waga kanegoto no kakarikeru yo ni
- Next Poem
-
Omoiwabi mishi omokage wa sate okite koi sezariken ori zo koishiki