心もて生ふる山田のひつぢ穂は
君守らねど刈る人もなし
君守らねど刈る人もなし
- Roma-ji
-
Kokoro mote ouru yamada no hitsujiho wa kimi mamoranedo karu hito mo nashi
- English Translation
-
Of its own accord
growing in the mountain field,
the second-growth ears,
though you no longer guard them,
there is no one who would reap
- Meaning
- The second-growth ears that sprout of their own accord in the mountain field—though you do not guard them, no one comes to reap them.
- Commentary
-
Book Five Autumn Poems I 269
Headnote: "Reply."
She replies that the second-growth ears that sprout of their own accord in the mountain field need no guarding by him, for no one comes to reap them. Taking up the rice metaphor of the preceding poem, she parries the man's lament.
It forms an exchange with the preceding poem, 268.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. It is thought to be the poem of the woman to whom the preceding poem was sent.
The first line, "Kokoro mote," means "of its own accord, by its own will."
The second line, "ouru yamada no," means "of the mountain field where it grows."
The third line, "hitsujiho wa," means "the ears that grow again from the stubble of reaped rice," taking up "ta no mi" in the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "kimi mamoranedo," means "though you do not guard them," taking up "moru" in the preceding poem.
The last line, "karu hito mo nashi," means "there is no one to reap them," answering "karasetsutsu" in the preceding poem.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Akekurashi moru tanomi o karasetsutsu tamoto sohotsu no mi to zo narinuru
- Next Poem
-
Kusa no ito ni nuku shiratama to mietsuru wa aki no musuberu tsuyu ni zo arikeru