世の常の音をし泣かねば逢ふことの
涙の色も殊にぞありける
涙の色も殊にぞありける
- Roma-ji
-
Yo no tsune no ne o shi nakaneba au koto no namida no iro mo koto ni zo arikeru
- English Translation
-
Since I do not weep
aloud as others commonly do,
the tears I shed
for the meeting I long for
have a color all their own
- Meaning
- Since I do not weep aloud as ordinary people do, the tears I shed longing to meet you have taken on a color all their own.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Love Poems II 669
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that since he does not cry aloud in the ordinary way, the tears he sheds for the meeting he longs for have a color all their own. He conveys a grief of love deeper than the common sort through tears whose color has changed.
Like "ne ni naku" in 645 and 661 in this book, it links the tears of love with the voice.
The poet, Fujiwara no Harumasa, lived in the mid Heian period, and few details of his life have come down to us.
The first line, "Yo no tsune no," means "of the ordinary kind."
The second line, "ne o shi nakaneba," means "since I do not weep aloud," with "shi" an emphatic particle.
The third line, "au koto no," means "shed in longing to meet."
The fourth line, "namida no iro mo," means "the color of my tears," drawing on the belief that tears turn crimson as the grief of love deepens.
The last line, "koto ni zo arikeru," means "was unlike any other," with "zo" an emphatic particle closing with the attributive "keru," a kakarimusubi pattern.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Harumasa
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Omoiki ya aiminu koto o itsu yori to kazou bakari ni nasan mono to wa
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Shiranami no yosuru isoma o kogu fune no kaji toriaenu koi mo suru kana