そゑにとてとすればかかりかくすれば
あな言ひ知らずあふさきるさに
あな言ひ知らずあふさきるさに
- Roma-ji
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Soe ni tote to sureba kakari kaku sureba ana iishirazu ōsa kirusa ni
- English Translation
-
Well, and so it goes,
do this, then that's how it turns,
do that, and then this—
oh, there are no words for it,
everything at cross-purposes
- Meaning
- And so, if I do this, it turns out that way; if I do that, it turns out this way. Oh, there are no words for it, everything always at cross-purposes.
- Commentary
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Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1060
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem piles up colloquial phrases, "to sureba," "kaku sureba," and "ōsa kirusa," to express the frustration of a love in which nothing goes right. Its string of decidedly unpoetic words makes it a model haikai poem.
The author is unknown and is recorded as "Anonymous."
First line, "Soe ni tote," uses "soe ni," therefore: and so, it is said.
Second line, "to sureba kakari," means do it that way and it turns out like this.
Third line, "kaku sureba," means do it this way, pairing with the second line.
Fourth line, "ana iishirazu," uses the interjection "ana": oh, there are no words. The poem breaks here.
Fifth line, "ōsa kirusa ni," describes things forever at cross-purposes, and is inverted to modify what precedes.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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