Au koto wa kumoi haruka ni narukami no oto ni kikitsutsu koiwataru kana - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢ふことは雲居はるかになる神の
音に聞きつつ恋ひわたるかな

Roma-ji: Au koto wa kumoi haruka ni narukami no oto ni kikitsutsu koiwataru kana
English Translation: Our meeting has grown
distant as the clouded sky
where the thunder rolls
I hear of you by rumor only
and go on loving still
Meaning: Meeting you has become as remote as the far-off clouds, and like the thunder that rolls there, I only hear of you by report as I go on loving you.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 482

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem sings of loving someone as far away as the clouds, hearing of them only by rumor, like thunder rumbling in the distance. The pivot on naru, meaning both "become" and "rumble," joins the upper and lower verses smoothly, and a love for one beyond reach is entrusted to a vast scene of the heavens.
The poet "Tsurayuki" is Ki no Tsurayuki. He was one of the compilers of the Kokinshu and is believed to have written its kana preface. He served as governor of Tosa and wrote the Tosa Diary. He is one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "Our meeting has grown": au koto wa, as for meeting that person, sets out the theme of the poem.
Second line, "distant as the clouded sky": kumoi means the place of the clouds, the far sky, overlaying the distance of meeting with the distance of the heavens. The "far edge of the clouds" in poem 484 of this book likewise turns love's longing toward the distant sky.
Third line, "where the thunder rolls": naru is a pivot word meaning both "to become" distant and for thunder "to rumble." Narukami is thunder, and it leads to "sound" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "I hear of you by rumor only": oto ni kikitsutsu means hearing by rumor, overlaying the sound of thunder with the sound of report. It is the same phrase as in poem 473 of this book.
Fifth line, "and go on loving still": wataru means to continue, and kana is an exclamatory final particle.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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