かきつはた丹つらふ君をいささめに
思ひ出でつつ嘆きつるかも
思ひ出でつつ嘆きつるかも
- Roma-ji
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Kakitsuhata nitsurau kimi o isasame ni omoiidetsutsu nagekitsuru kamo
- English Translation
-
Like the iris bloom,
you, so radiant and fair,
just by chance, again
I recall you, and each time
how deep my sighing grows
- Meaning
- You, as radiant as an iris in bloom: I happened to think of you, and again and again I found myself sighing.
- Commentary
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Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2521
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing One's Feelings Directly"
The speaker sighs on happening to recall the beloved, radiant like an iris in bloom. An image that rises casually in the mind turns at once into deep sighing, showing how strong love's longing is.
This is a poem expressing feelings directly, beginning by likening the beloved's beauty to the color of a flower with "kakitsuhata nitsurau." Poem 2523 also begins with "sanitsurau," so the same word for a glowing red color is placed close by.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather love poems by people whose names have not come down to us.
First line, "kakitsuhata": a pillow word attached to "nitsurau." From the beauty of the iris's color, it leads to a word for glowing, vivid hues.
Second line, "nitsurau kimi o": "you, glowing red and fair." "Nitsurau" means to glow with a red color, describing a fresh, youthful beauty.
Third line, "isasame ni": "by chance, lightly," describing how the beloved comes to mind on some passing occasion.
Fourth line, "omoiidetsutsu": "recalling again and again." The particle "tsutsu" marks repetition, showing that each memory brings a sigh.
Fifth line, "nagekitsuru kamo": "how I have sighed." The attributive "tsuru" of the perfective "tsu" with the final particle "kamo" looks back on the speaker's own sighing with deep feeling.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Karikomo no hitoe o shikite sanuredomo kimi to shi nureba samukeku mo nashi
- Next Poem
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Urameshi to omou sanawa ni arishikaba yoso nomi zo mishi kokoro wa omoedo