疎まるる心しなくは郭公
飽かぬ別れに今朝は消なまし
飽かぬ別れに今朝は消なまし
- Roma-ji
-
Utomaruru kokoro shi nakuba hototogisu akanu wakare ni kesa wa kenamashi
- English Translation
-
Were it not for fear
of being thought tiresome,
little cuckoo, then
in this parting not yet sated
this morning I would have died
- Meaning
- If I did not fear being thought tiresome, little cuckoo, I would have faded away this morning in a parting that left me wanting more.
- Commentary
-
Book Four Summer Poems 174
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sent to someone."
Had he not feared being found tiresome, he would have faded away this morning in a parting that left him unsatisfied. Calling to the cuckoo, he shows a heart holding back the pain of the morning-after parting.
In the text it bears the same headnote as the preceding poem and is set among the poems sent to someone.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.
The first line, "Utomaruru," means "to be found tiresome," with "ruru" as the attributive form of the passive auxiliary "ru."
In the second line, "shi" is an emphatic particle and "nakuba" marks a supposition: "if there were no such heart." It forms a counterfactual construction with "mashi" in the last line.
The third line, "hototogisu," calls to the bird that sings at dawn, placed as the herald of the hour of parting.
The fourth line, "akanu wakare ni," means "in a parting not yet sated," with "akanu" expressing the wish to remain together longer.
In the last line, "ke" means to fade away, "na" is the irrealis form of the completive auxiliary "nu," and "mashi" is counterfactual: "I would have faded away."
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Au to mishi yume ni naraite natsu no hi no kuregataki o mo nagekitsuru kana
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Orihaete ne o nomi zo naku hototogisu shigeki nageki no eda goto ni ite