あふからもものはなほこそ悲しけれ
別れむことをかねて思へば
別れむことをかねて思へば
- Roma-ji
-
Au kara mo mono wa nao koso kanashikere wakaremu koto o kanete omoeba
- English Translation
-
The moment we meet,
all the more does everything
fill me with sorrow,
for already I foresee
the parting that must come.
- Meaning
- The very moment we meet, everything grows all the sadder—because I already foresee the parting that is bound to come.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Names of Things 429
Headnote: "Apricot blossoms"
This poem says that the very moment of meeting brings still greater sorrow, because the parting to come is already in mind. The title "karamomo no hana" (apricot blossoms) is hidden in "au kara mo mono wa na" across the first and second lines. Within the constraint of the title, it naturally expresses the lover's mind that grieves over parting in the midst of meeting. Following "sumomo no hana" in the preceding poem, another title containing "momo no hana" appears, an arrangement based on the likeness of the titles.
The poet, "Fukayabu," is Kiyohara no Fukayabu. He was the great-grandfather of Sei Shonagon and was also known as a skilled player of the koto.
First line "Au kara mo" means "the moment we meet," with "kara" expressing immediacy. The title "karamomo" begins here.
Second line "mono wa nao koso" means "all the more, everything." Together with the first line it hides the title, and the particle "koso" reaches forward to the ending of the third line.
Third line "kanashikere" closes in the perfective form in answer to "koso." The poem pauses here.
Fourth line "wakaremu koto o" means "the parting that will come," with "mu" expressing conjecture.
Fifth line "kanete omoeba" means "because I think of it beforehand," giving by inversion the reason for the sorrow of the third line.
- Author
- Kiyohara no Fukayabu
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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Ima ikuka haru shi nakereba uguisu mo mono wa nagamete omou beranari
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Ashihiki no yama tachihanare yuku kumo no yadori sadamenu yo ni koso arikere