死ぬ死ぬと聞く聞くだにも逢ひ見ねば
命をいつの世にか残さん
命をいつの世にか残さん
- Roma-ji
-
Shinu shinu to kiku kiku dani mo aimineba inochi o itsu no yo ni ka nokosan
- English Translation
-
Even as you hear
me say "I die, I die,"
you will not meet me—
to what age then could I
keep this life of mine
- Meaning
- Even hearing me say again and again that I will die, you still will not meet me. Until what age, then, could I keep this life of mine?
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Love Poems III 708
Headnote: "Reply."
In this reply the poet asks how long he can keep his life if she will not meet him even as she hears him say he is dying. Answering her teasing, he presses once more that his life cannot last unless she meets him.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 707.
The poet, Minamoto no Saneakira, was a son of Minamoto no Kintada and served as Governor of Mutsu among other posts. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, he is also known for his love exchanges with Nakatsukasa.
The first line, "Shinu shinu to," means "I die, I die," taking up "tabitabi shinu to" in the second line of the preceding poem.
The second line, "kiku kiku dani mo," means "even while hearing it," repeating the word as "shinu shinu" does in the first line to set the rhythm.
The third line, "aimineba," means "since you will not meet me."
The fourth line, "inochi o itsu no," means "my life, until what," answering "au ni wa nani o" in the fourth line of the preceding poem by offering his life itself as the exchange.
The last line, "yo ni ka nokosan," means "could I keep it to that age," with "ka" a rhetorical particle closing on the attributive "n," a kakarimusubi pattern.
- Author
- Minamoto no Saneakira
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Itazura ni tabitabi shinu to iu mereba au ni wa nani o kaemu to suran
- Next Poem
-
E ni kakeru tori tomo hito o miteshi gana onaji tokoro o tsune ni tou beku