みなかみに祈るかひなく涙川
うきても人をよそに見るかな
うきても人をよそに見るかな
- Roma-ji
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Minakami ni inoru kai naku namidagawa ukite mo hito o yoso ni miru kana
- English Translation
-
To the river's source,
its god, I prayed in vain;
on my river of tears
I float in misery, and still
I see you only from afar
- Meaning
- My prayers to the god of the river's source were in vain; drifting in misery on a river of tears, I can only watch you from afar.
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Love Poems I 585
Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet says that his prayers to the god of the river's source were in vain, and drifting in misery on a river of tears, he can only watch her from afar. It conveys the grief of one whose prayers go unheard and who can only gaze at the beloved from a distance, lost in tears.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a woman. The next poem is her reply, and the two form a pair of exchanged poems.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.
In the first line, "minakami" is a pivot word meaning both "the river's source" and "the water god." "Minakami sae zo" in the second line of the next poem takes this up.
The second line, "inoru kai naku," means "my prayers in vain."
The third line, "namidagawa," likens flowing tears to a river and is an associated word with "minakami" in the first line.
In the fourth line, "uki" is a pivot word meaning both "floating" on the river of tears and "sorrowful."
In the last line, "kana" is an exclamatory particle: "how I can only watch you from afar!"
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Watatsuumi ni fukaki kokoro no nakariseba nani ka wa kimi o uramishi mo sen
- Next Poem
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Inorikeru minakami sae zo urameshiki kyō yori hoka ni kage no mieneba