ひとり寝て絶えにし紐をゆゆしみと
為むすべ知らに音のみしぞ泣く
為むすべ知らに音のみしぞ泣く
- Roma-ji
-
Hitori nete taenishi himo o yuyushimi to semu sube shira ni ne nomi shi zo naku
- English Translation
-
Sleeping all alone,
the cord that has snapped in two
fills me now with dread;
at a loss for what to do,
I can only weep aloud
- Meaning
- Sleeping alone, I found my cord had snapped, and fearing it an evil omen, not knowing what to do, I can only weep aloud.
- Commentary
-
Book Four Love Poems 515
Headnote: "A poem sent by Nakatomi no Asomi Azumahito to Abe no Iratsume"
Fearing as an evil omen that the cord of his robe snapped while he slept alone, the poet tells Abe no Iratsume that he does not know what to do and can only weep. It was then believed that the breaking of a cord a man and woman had tied for each other signaled a change of heart or misfortune. Taking up the robe's seams of the preceding poem, it speaks of a cord, another part of the robe, and draws out Abe no Iratsume's reply in the next poem.
The author, Nakatomi no Azumahito, was an official of the Nara period, said to be a son of Nakatomi no Omimaro.
First line, "Sleeping all alone," means while I slept by myself, showing the loneliness of being apart from his love.
Second line, "the cord that has snapped in two," uses the perfective nu and past ki: the cord that broke, the one the lovers had tied.
Third line, "fills me now with dread," is yuyushimi to, from the adjective yuyushi with the suffix mi: thinking it ill-omened, he takes the broken cord as a bad sign.
Fourth line, "at a loss for what to do," uses ni, an old continuative form of the negative zu: not knowing what to do.
Fifth line, "I can only weep aloud," means I do nothing but cry aloud, strengthened by both shi and zo; it closes in the attributive naku as zo requires.
- Author
- Nakatomi no Azumahito
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Waga seko ga keseru koromo no harime ochizu irinikerashi mo aga kokoro sae
- Next Poem
-
Waga moteru mitsuai ni yoreru ito mochite tsuketemashi mono ima zo kuyashiki