心をぞわりなきものと思ひぬる
見るものからや恋しかるべき
見るものからや恋しかるべき
- Roma-ji
-
Kokoro o zo warinaki mono to omoinuru miru mono kara ya koishikaru beki
- English Translation
-
My own heart, I find,
is a thing beyond all reason,
so I have come to think:
even as I see you here,
how can I be longing still?
- Meaning
- I have come to think my heart a thing beyond all reason: how can I still long for you, even while we are together?
- Commentary
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Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 685
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The speaker marvels that his heart, which longs for the beloved even while they meet, defies all reason. The bewilderment of trying and failing to grasp love through logic is expressed as a question put to oneself.
Like the head poem, 677, with its "katsu miru hito ni koi ya wataramu," this poem takes as its theme longing in the very presence of the beloved, reconsidering the opening idea from the side of reason.
The author, "Fukayabu," is Kiyohara no Fukayabu. The great-grandfather of Sei Shōnagon, he served in posts such as secretary of the Bureau of Palace Artisans and was also known as a master of the koto.
The first line, "kokoro o zo," means "my heart," with the particle "zo" forming a kakari-musubi with "nuru" in the third line.
The second line, "warinaki mono to," means "a thing without reason" or "a thing beyond help."
The third line, "omoinuru," means "so I have come to think," with the attributive form of the perfective "nu" completing the "zo"; the poem pauses here.
In the fourth line, "miru mono kara ya," "mono kara" is a concessive particle meaning "although," giving "although I see you."
The final line, "koishikaru beki," means "should I be longing?", answering the "ya" of the fourth line with the attributive form in a kakari-musubi.
- Author
- Kiyohara no Fukayabu
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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