白玉を包む袖のみ流るるは
春は涙もさえぬなりけり
春は涙もさえぬなりけり
- Roma-ji
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Shiratama o tsutsumu sode nomi nagaruru wa haru wa namida mo saenu nari keri
- English Translation
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White jewels of tears
wrapped within my sleeves alone
flow and stream away,
for in spring my tears as well
are no longer chilled to ice
- Meaning
- That only my sleeves, wrapping their white jewels of tears, should be streaming so—it is because in spring even tears no longer freeze.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems I 20
Headnote: "Sent to someone."
Likening tears to white jewels, the poet says her sleeves stream with weeping because in spring even tears no longer freeze. She links her ceaseless tears to the turning of the season.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a certain person. By claiming that tears which would freeze and stop in winter cannot stop in spring, she conveys the depth of her feelings for that person.
The poet, Ise, was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, governor of Ise, and served Empress Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. She received Emperor Uda's favor and later bore Nakatsukasa to Prince Atsuyoshi. She is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
The first line, "White jewels of tears," presents white jewels, or pearls, here standing for tears.
The second line, "wrapped within my sleeves alone," shows the sleeves enfolding the jewels of tears; "nomi" stresses "only my sleeves."
The third line, "flow and stream away," describes sleeves so drenched that they seem to flow.
The fourth line, "for in spring my tears as well," means "in spring, tears too," overlaying the melting snow and ice of spring onto tears.
In the last line, "saenu" comes from "sayu," to grow cold and freeze. She links spring's arrival to her unceasing tears, and "keri" expresses a sigh of realization.
- Author
- Ise
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Izuko to mo haru no hikari wa wakanaku ni mada Miyoshino no yama wa yuki furu
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Haru tachite waga mi furinuru nagame ni wa hito no kokoro no hana mo chiri keri