雲居にも通ふ心の後れねば
別ると人に見ゆばかりなり
別ると人に見ゆばかりなり
- Roma-ji
-
Kumoi ni mo kayou kokoro no okureneba wakaru to hito ni miyu bakari nari
- English Translation
-
Since my heart that travels
even beyond the clouds
does not lag behind,
our parting is but something
that others seem to see.
- Meaning
- My heart, which can travel even to the far reaches of the sky, will never fall behind you; so our parting is only how it appears in the eyes of others.
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Parting Poems 378
Headnote: "Composed when seeing off an acquaintance who was leaving for the eastern provinces"
Seeing off an acquaintance bound for the eastern provinces, the poet says that since his heart will follow anywhere, their parting is only how it looks to others. With the rational idea of canceling the parting of bodies through the companionship of the heart, he turns the sorrow of parting into encouragement for the traveler.
The author, "Fukayabu," was Kiyohara no Fukayabu, great-grandfather of Sei Shōnagon, who was also known as a master of the koto.
The first line, "even beyond the clouds," uses kumoi for the distant sky or a faraway place, and the particle mo stresses that distance. It shares the word kumoi with poem 367, "though we part beyond the boundless clouds," and likewise sings of a heart that does not leave the other.
The second line, "my heart that travels," speaks of the heart going to and fro to the other person, continuing to the third line with the subject marker no.
The third line, "does not lag behind," uses the negative ne with ba as an established condition, giving the reason: because it follows without falling behind. Like poem 373 in this book, "I send my heart along with you," it sings of the heart as companion.
The fourth line, "our parting, to others," uses hito for other people, showing that parting is merely how it appears from outside.
The last line, "is but what they seem to see," ends firmly with the limiting bakari and the copula nari: it is only an appearance.
- Author
- Kiyohara no Fukayabu
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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