草枕旅にし居れば刈り薦の
乱れて妹に恋ひぬ日はなし
乱れて妹に恋ひぬ日はなし
- Roma-ji
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Kusamakura tabi ni shi oreba karikomo no midarete imo ni koinu hi wa nashi
- English Translation
-
With grass for pillow,
I am away on a journey;
like cut reeds strewn,
my heart in tangles, no day
passes but I long for you
- Meaning
- Away on my journey, pillowed on grass, my heart is tangled like cut reeds, and not a day goes by that I do not long for my beloved.
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3176
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
Away on a journey, the poet's heart is tangled like cut reeds, and there is no day without longing for the beloved. The dreariness of travel and the turmoil of love are layered together.
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, "kusamakura," is a pillow word for "tabi," journey.
Line two, "tabi ni shi oreba," means "since I am on a journey," with "shi" emphatic.
Line three, "karikomo no," cut reeds that lie in disarray, is a pillow word for "midare," tangle.
Line four, "midarete imo ni," means "in turmoil, for my beloved."
Line five, "koinu hi wa nashi," means "there is no day I do not long."
- Author
- Unknown
- Source
- Manyoshu
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