暁の鴫の羽がき百羽がき
君が来ぬ夜は我ぞ数かく
君が来ぬ夜は我ぞ数かく
- Roma-ji
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Akatsuki no shigi no hanegaki momohagaki kimi ga konu yo wa ware zo kazu kaku
- English Translation
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At the break of dawn
the snipe preens its wings, and preens,
a hundred times preens,
but on nights you do not come
it is I who mark the count
- Meaning
- At dawn the snipe preens its feathers over and over, a hundred times over, but on the nights you do not come, it is I who keep marking down the count.
- Commentary
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Book Fifteen Love Poems V 761
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poem says that on nights when her lover does not come, the marks she makes outnumber even the times a snipe preens its wings at dawn. The repeated sound kaku sets the rhythm, and the grief of sleepless nights is expressed through light wordplay.
The first line names the dark hour before dawn, also the time when lovers part.
The second line refers to the snipe running its beak through its feathers, which snipe were thought to do again and again at dawn.
The third line, "a hundred preenings," exaggerates the number, and the repetition of hagaki creates rhythm.
The fourth line, "on nights you do not come," turns from the snipe to her own grief.
The last line resolves zo with the attributive kaku. "Marking the count" may mean tallying the nights he does not come or counting her restless turns. Using kaku three times is the poem's device.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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