思ひ遣るすべのたづきも今はなし
君に逢はずて年の経ぬれば
君に逢はずて年の経ぬれば
- Roma-ji
-
Omoiyaru sube no tazuki mo ima wa nashi kimi ni awazute toshi no henureba
- English Translation
-
Of easing this heart
there is now no means at all,
no way left to me,
for without our meeting, love,
a whole year has passed away
- Meaning
- There is no longer any way to ease my heart, for a whole year has gone by without my seeing you.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems 3261
Headnote: "Envoy"
This is the envoy to the chōka (3260). The year has passed without a meeting, and there is no longer any way to soothe the longing. The chōka is a man’s song: just as people draw the water of Ayuchi at Owarida without pause and drink it at all hours, his longing for his beloved never ceases. The left note says, “On reflection, it is unreasonable that this envoy says ‘without meeting you (kimi)’; it should say ‘without meeting my beloved (imo),’” the compiler pointing out the mismatch between the man’s voice in the chōka and the envoy’s “kimi.” Here the text’s “kimi” is followed.
The poet is unknown. Book Thirteen is built mainly of anonymous chōka and their envoys, and many of its poems preserve the air of old songs and ritual verse.
The first line, “omoiyaru,” means to dispel one’s feelings or console the heart, sending the thoughts far off to ease them.
In the second line, “sube” means method and “tazuki” clue or means; stacking words of similar meaning stresses that there is no way at all.
The third line, “ima wa nashi,” means “now there is none,” and the poem breaks here.
In the fourth line, “zute” joins the negative to the connective “te”: “without meeting.” The left note says this “kimi” should be “imo.”
The closing line, “toshi no henureba,” means “since the year has passed,” a realized condition that, by inversion, gives the reason for the first three lines.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Kaku nomi shi aiomowazu araba amakumo no yoso ni zo kimi wa arubeku arikeru
- Next Poem
-
Mizugaki no hisashiki toki yu koi sureba waga obi yurū asa yoi goto ni