飽かずして別るる袖の白玉を
君が形見と包みてぞ行く
君が形見と包みてぞ行く
- Roma-ji
-
Akazu shite wakaruru sode no shiratama o kimi ga katami to tsutsumite zo yuku
- English Translation
-
The white jewels
on the sleeve of one who parts
still unsatisfied,
as a keepsake of you
I wrap and carry on my way.
- Meaning
- Parting from you before I have had my fill, I gather the white jewels of tears fallen on my sleeve and carry them away, wrapped up as a keepsake of you.
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Parting Poems 400
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Parting with lingering regret, the poet resolves to wrap up the beads of tears fallen on the sleeve and carry them as a keepsake of the other. Likening tears to white jewels, the poem expresses a heart that cherishes the very sorrow of parting as a means of remembering the beloved.
The author is listed as "anonymous," and the name has not come down to us. From this poem through 403, four poems of unknown topic stand together.
The first line, "still unsatisfied," means with one's fill not yet had, still reluctant, and shares its first line with poem 396.
The second line, "the sleeve of one who parts," indicates the sleeve at the moment of parting, leading to the place where tears fall.
The third line, "the white jewels," means pearls or lovely white gems, a figure for the tears spilled on the sleeve.
The fourth line, "as a keepsake of you," uses katami for something by which to remember one who has parted, making the tears a memento of the beloved.
The last line, "I wrap and carry on my way," binds the particle zo with the attributive yuku, firmly declaring that the tears will be wrapped in the sleeve and carried away.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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Wakaruredo ureshiku mo aru ka koyoi yori aiminu saki ni nani o koimashi
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Kagirinaku omou namida ni sobochinuru sode wa kawakaji awamu hi made ni