忘らるる身をうぢ橋のなか絶えて
人も通はぬ年ぞ経にける
人も通はぬ年ぞ経にける
- Roma-ji
-
Wasuraruru mi o ujibashi no naka taete hito mo kayowanu toshi zo henikeru
- English Translation
-
My forgotten self
finds it bitter as Uji's bridge
broken in the middle,
with no one crossing over,
the years have gone passing by
- Meaning
- I have been forgotten, and it is bitter. Like the Uji Bridge broken in the middle, our bond has broken, and with no one crossing to me, the years have gone by.
- Commentary
-
Book Fifteen Love Poems V 825
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
While lamenting her forgotten state, the years have passed with the bond broken and the lover never coming, just as the Uji Bridge, broken in the middle, is crossed by no one. Punning Uji with ushi, "bitter," and naka, "middle," with "relationship," it expresses the severed bond through the concrete image of a broken bridge. The next poem also speaks of a bridge and shares the last line, "the years have passed," forming a pair.
In the headnote column, a note reads "or: kochira kanata ni hito mo kayowazu," indicating a variant with the lower verse "no one crosses from this side or that." Here the body text is followed.
In the first line ruru, attributive of the passive ru, means "being forgotten."
In the second line uji is a pivot word, meaning both the place Uji and ushi, "bitter." The Uji Bridge spans the Uji River in Yamashiro.
In the third line naka is a pivot word, meaning both the middle of the bridge and the bond between the two, so both the bridge and the tie are broken.
The fourth line, "no one comes and goes," layers the empty bridge with the lover who no longer visits. "Come and go" is an associated word for the bridge.
The last line resolves zo with keru, attributive of keri. It is the same line as the last line of the next poem, lamenting the passage of years.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Aki to ieba yoso ni zo kikishi adabito no ware o furuseru na ni koso arikere
- Next Poem
-
Au koto o nagara no hashi no nagaraete koiwataru ma ni toshi zo henikeru