我がごとや君も恋ふらん白露の
おきても寝ても袖ぞ乾かぬ
おきても寝ても袖ぞ乾かぬ
- Roma-ji
-
Waga goto ya kimi mo kouran shiratsuyu no okite mo nete mo sode zo kawakanu
- English Translation
-
Do you, as I do,
long for me in the same way?
Like the white dew,
whether I rise or lie down,
my sleeves never are dry
- Meaning
- Do you long for me just as I long for you? As white dew settles, whether I rise or lie down, my sleeves never dry.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Love Poems II 626
Headnote: "On the road to a distant place, when he sent someone to the capital on an important matter, he wrote this at the edge of his letter."
The poet wonders whether she longs for him as he does for her, for whether he rises or lies down, his sleeves never dry. Thinking of his beloved in the capital while on a journey, he layers the tears that fall day and night with white dew.
According to the headnote, on the road to a distant place he sent a messenger to the capital on an important matter, and wrote this at the edge of the letter.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.
The first line, "Waga goto ya," means "just as I do," with "ya" an interrogative particle.
The second line, "kimi mo kouran," means "do you also long for me?" closing with the attributive "ran" in answer to "ya" in the first line, a kakarimusubi pattern. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "shiratsuyu no," means "as the white dew settles," leading to "oki" in the fourth line.
In the fourth line, "oki" is a pivot word joining the dew "settling" and "rising" from bed: "whether I rise or lie down."
The last line, "sode zo kawakanu," means "my sleeves never dry," with "zo" an emphatic particle closing with the attributive "kawakanu," a kakarimusubi pattern.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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