春立てば消ゆる氷の残りなく
君が心は我に解けなむ
君が心は我に解けなむ
- Roma-ji
-
Haru tateba kiyuru kōri no nokori naku kimi ga kokoro wa ware ni toke namu
- English Translation
-
When spring comes to stay
as the melting ice is gone
leaving not a trace
may your heart toward me
melt completely too
- Meaning
- As the ice melts away without a trace when spring arrives, may your heart melt toward me completely.
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Love Poems I 542
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem wishes that, as the ice melts entirely when spring comes, the beloved's heart too would soften completely toward the poet. Likening the beloved's stubborn heart to winter ice and its melting to the coming of spring, it brightly expresses hope for love's fulfillment. From here toward the end of the book, love poems entrusted to seasonal images are arranged in order: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
First line, "When spring comes to stay": haru tateba means when spring begins. The closing part of this book begins with this spring poem and moves in seasonal order through the cicadas and fireflies of summer, the dew and lightning of autumn, and the snow of winter.
Second line, "as the melting ice is gone": kiyuru kori no means of the ice that melts and vanishes.
Third line, "leaving not a trace": nokori naku means without remainder, and lines one through three work as a preface showing ice melting away completely, leading to toke in the last line.
Fourth line, "may your heart toward me": kimi ga kokoro wa, your heart, likens the beloved's stubborn heart to winter ice.
Fifth line, "melt completely too": toku means both ice melting and a heart opening up. Namu is a final particle expressing a wish toward another, meaning "I wish it would melt."
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Yoso ni shite koureba kurushi irehimo no onaji kokoro ni iza musubitemu
- Next Poem
-
Aketateba semi no orihae nakikurashi yoru wa hotaru no moe koso watare