聞きしより物を思へば我が胸は
破れて砕けて利心もなし
破れて砕けて利心もなし
- Roma-ji
-
Kikishi yori mono o omoeba aga mune wa warete kudakete togokoro mo nashi
- English Translation
-
Since I heard of you
I have brooded so on love
that this heart of mine
has broken, shattered into pieces,
with no sound mind left in me
- Meaning
- Ever since I heard of you I have been lost in brooding, and my heart is broken and shattered, with no clear mind left.
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2894
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poet's brooding began on hearing of the beloved, and now the heart is broken and shattered and all sense lost. It reflects how love in that age could begin with mere report, and the violent image of a shattered heart stresses the suffering.
The poet is unknown. Book Twelve, titled the second part of "Love Poems Exchanged Old and New," gathers love poems by people whose names have not come down to us, arranged by category.
Line one, "kikishi yori," means "since I heard," showing that love began on hearing of the beloved.
Line two, "mono o omoeba," means "since I have been brooding."
Line three, "aga mune wa," means "my heart."
Line four, "warete kudakete," means "broken and shattered," with paired verbs of the same form stressing the pain. It shares the violence of "sakenishi mune wa" in poem 2878 in this book.
Line five, "togokoro mo nashi": "togokoro" means a steady mind, one's right senses.
- Author
- Unknown
- Source
- Manyoshu
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