闇の夜は苦しきものをいつしかと
我が待つ月も早も照らぬか
我が待つ月も早も照らぬか
- Roma-ji
-
Yami no yo wa kurushiki mono o itsushika to waga matsu tsuki mo haya mo teranu ka
- English Translation
-
A night of darkness
is a painful thing to bear;
"Oh, when will it come?"
the moon for which I long and wait—
would it not shine out soon?
- Meaning
- A dark night is hard to bear—so the moon I wait for, wondering when it will come, would that it would shine out soon!
- Commentary
-
Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1374
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the Moon"
Because a dark night is hard to bear, the poet wishes the long-awaited moon would shine soon. The longing for moonlight carries the longing for the beloved's visit.
It is one of the poems under the heading "On the Moon." It takes up "the moon is slow to come" of the preceding poem and sings of waiting for the moon. According to the left note on the next poem, the poet of this poem on the dark night also composed the next poem. The poet is unknown.
The first line, "A night of darkness," refers to a moonless night.
In the second line, "is a painful thing to bear," "mono o" is a concessive exclamation, and the poem pauses here.
The third line, "Oh, when will it come?" expresses eager waiting.
The fourth line, "the moon for which I long and wait," echoes the last line of the preceding poem.
In the final line, "would it not shine out soon?" "nu ka" expresses a wish.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Kasugayama yama takaku arashi iwa no ue no suga no ne mimu ni tsuki machikatashi
- Next Poem
-
Asashimo no keyasuki inochi ta ga tame ni chitose mo ga mo to waga omowanaku ni