垣ほなす人言聞きて我が背子が
心たゆたひ逢はぬこのころ
心たゆたひ逢はぬこのころ
- Roma-ji
-
Kakiho nasu hitogoto kikite waga seko ga kokoro tayutai awanu kono koro
- English Translation
-
Like a hedge around,
people's talk has reached his ears,
and my dearest one,
wavering within his heart,
does not come to me these days
- Meaning
- Hearing the gossip that surrounds us like a hedge, my love's heart has wavered, and these days he does not come to meet me.
- Commentary
-
Book Four Love Poems 713
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Three poems by Taniwa no Ōme no Otome"
Hearing the gossip that hems them in like a hedge, her lover's heart has wavered, and he no longer comes. Placed last of the three, it closes the sequence on love's anxiety.
The author, Taniwa no Ōme no Otome, is a woman of whom little is known.
First line, "Like a hedge around," uses nasu, "like": like a fence.
Second line, "people's talk has reached his ears," means hearing the gossip.
Third line, "and my dearest one," names her lover.
Fourth line, "wavering within his heart," means his heart sways.
Fifth line, "does not come to me these days," ends on a noun: these days of not meeting.
- Author
- Taniwa no Ōme no Otome
- Source
- Manyoshu
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