霊ぢはふ神も我れをば打棄てこそ
しゑや命の惜しけくもなし
しゑや命の惜しけくもなし
- Roma-ji
-
Tamachihau kami mo ware oba utsute koso shie ya inochi no oshikeku mo nashi
- English Translation
-
O you gods of might,
so full of spirit, cast me off,
abandon me now:
ah, this life of mine
is no longer dear to me
- Meaning
- O gods of mighty spirit, cast me away. Ah, I no longer care for my life at all.
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2661
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Let even the gods of mighty spirit abandon her, for she no longer values her life: this poem gives voice to a heart in despair over love. Rather than praying to the gods for protection as in the preceding poems, it rejects their care, revealing the depth of love's suffering.
This poem shares its last line, "oshikeku mo nashi," with poem 2663, two poems later. While this poem does not value life, poem 2663 does not value reputation, and the two stand side by side expressing the intensity of love through readiness to cast away life and name.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather the love poems of people whose names have not come down to us.
First line, "tamachihau": "where spirit power is vigorous," a pillow word attached to "gods."
Second line, "kami mo ware oba": "even the gods, me." "Mo" stresses "even the gods," and "oba" singles out "me" as the object.
Third line, "utsute koso": "please cast me away." "Koso" here is a final particle of desire toward another, and the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, "shie ya inochi no": "ah, my life." "Shie ya" is an interjection of reckless resignation.
Fifth line, "oshikeku mo nashi": "is not dear to me." "Oshikeku" is the nominalized form of the adjective "oshi," and the line is the same as the last line of poem 2663 in this book.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Yo narabete kimi o kimase to chihayaburu kami no yashiro o nomanu hi wa nashi
- Next Poem
-
Wagimoko ni mata mo awamu to chihayaburu kami no yashiro o nomanu hi wa nashi