恋しさは寝ぬに慰むともなきに
あやしくあはぬめをも見るかな
あやしくあはぬめをも見るかな
- Roma-ji
-
Koishisa wa nenu ni nagusamu to mo naki ni ayashiku awanu me o mo miru kana
- English Translation
-
This longing of mine
is not eased by lying awake,
and yet, strangely,
my eyes will not meet in sleep,
nor I meet you—such my lot
- Meaning
- Lying awake brings no comfort to my longing, yet strangely my eyes will not close in sleep, and I suffer the hardship of not meeting you.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Love Poems II 671
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that lying awake brings his longing no comfort, yet strangely his eyes will not close and he suffers the trial of not meeting her. He conveys the pain of a love unfulfilled despite sleepless nights through a pivot word on "me," eyes.
620 in this book also laments not meeting even in dreams, sharing the conceit of linking sleep with meeting.
The poet, Minamoto no Ukabu, lived in the mid Heian period, and few details of his life have come down to us.
The first line, "Koishisa wa," means "my longing."
The second line, "nenu ni nagusamu," means "is eased by not sleeping."
The third line, "to mo naki ni," means "though it is not so."
The fourth line, "ayashiku awanu," means "strangely not meeting," and with "me" in the last line it joins eyelids that will not "close" with not "meeting" the beloved.
In the last line, "me" is a pivot word joining "me," eyes, and "me," a hard experience, with "kana" an exclamatory particle.
- Author
- Minamoto no Ukabu
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Shiranami no yosuru isoma o kogu fune no kaji toriaenu koi mo suru kana
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Hisashiku mo koiwataru kana Suminoe no kishi ni toshi furu matsu naranaku ni