水鳥の鴨の羽色の春山の
おほつかなくも思ほゆるかも
おほつかなくも思ほゆるかも
- Roma-ji
-
Mizudori no kamo no hairo no haruyama no ōtsukanaku mo omooyuru kamo
- English Translation
-
Like the waterfowl,
the wild duck's plumage in its hue,
the hills of spring haze:
so dim, so uncertain now
do my thoughts of you appear
- Meaning
- Like the spring hills the color of a wild duck's plumage, dim and hazy, my thoughts of you are uncertain and uneasy.
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Spring Love Poems 1451
Headnote: "A poem sent by Lady Kasa to Ōtomo no Yakamochi"
Likening her feeling to spring hills of deep green like a wild duck's feathers, dim in the haze, the poet expresses her unease at being unable to be sure of her lover's heart. The richly colored figure gives vivid form to an anxious love.
The author, Lady Kasa, was a woman poet of the Nara period, and many of the love poems she sent to Ōtomo no Yakamochi are collected in the Man'yōshū.
The first line, "waterfowl," leads into "wild duck."
The second line means "the blue-green of a duck's feathers," likening it to the color of the spring hills.
With the third line, the first three lines become a preface leading to "ōtsukanaku."
The fourth line, "dim and uncertain," overlays the hazy hills with the anxiety of not knowing his heart.
The final line is an exclamation that she cannot help thinking so, expressing an unease she cannot suppress.
- Author
- Lady Kasa
- Source
- Manyoshu
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