わりなしと言ふこそかつはうれしけれ
おろかならずと見えぬと思へば
おろかならずと見えぬと思へば
- Roma-ji
-
Warinashi to iu koso katsu wa ureshikere oroka narazu to mienu to omoeba
- English Translation
-
That you call it hopeless
is, in one way at least,
a joy to me—
for I think it shows you've seen
my love is no light thing
- Meaning
- That you say it is hopeless gives me, in a way, a kind of joy—for I take it to mean you have seen that my love is no trifling thing.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Love Poems II 629
Headnote: "He had been pressing his suit most ardently, through a go-between, on a woman who had a husband, and she sent word back that it was quite impossible."
The poet says that her calling it impossible is, in a way, a joy, for it means she has seen that his love is not trifling. He shows a resourceful heart in love that takes even words of refusal as proof that his ardor has reached her.
According to the headnote, he had been pressing his suit very ardently through a go-between on a woman who had a husband, and she sent back word that it was quite impossible.
The poet, called "Motoyoshi no Miko," is Prince Motoyoshi, the eldest son of Emperor Yōzei, known for his many love affairs. His "wabinureba ima hata onaji Naniwa naru" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
The first line, "Warinashi to," means "that it is unreasonable, impossible."
The second line, "iu koso katsu wa," means "that you say so, in one way," with "koso" an emphatic particle.
The third line, "ureshikere," means "is a joy," closing in the perfective in answer to "koso" in the second line, a kakarimusubi pattern. The poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "oroka narazu to," means "that it is no trifling thing."
The last line, "mienu to omoeba," means "since I think you have seen it," inverted with the first three lines.
- Author
- Prince Motoyoshi
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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