誰となくおぼろに見えし月影に
分ける心を思ひ知らなん
分ける心を思ひ知らなん
- Roma-ji
-
Tare to naku oboro ni mieshi tsukikage ni wakeru kokoro o omoishiranan
- English Translation
-
In the moonlight
where all seemed hazy shapes
and none could be told,
know, I pray, this heart of mine
that singled you out
- Meaning
- In the hazy moonlight, where no one could be told apart, I hope you will come to know the heart that singled you out.
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Love Poems III 737
Headnote: "Seeing the ladies of the Fujitsubo walking on a moonlit night, he sent this to one of them."
The poet asks her to understand the heart that distinguished her in the hazy moonlight where no one could be told apart. He presses the certainty of his feeling in having picked out one among the ladies walking in the moonlight.
According to the headnote, he saw the ladies of the Fujitsubo walking on a moonlit night and sent the poem to one of them. The text gives the first line as "kō to naku," which does not match "tare to naku" in the reading line. As "kō" makes no sense, the reading line is followed here.
The poet, listed as "Kiyotada," was Fujiwara no Kiyotada. A son of Fujiwara no Kanesuke, he served as Governor of Kii among other posts and is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
The first line, "Tare to naku," means "no one in particular." It is the same as the first line of the preceding poem, 736, and the two are set side by side.
The second line, "oboro ni mieshi," means "seen dimly."
The third line, "tsukikage ni," means "in the moonlight."
The fourth line, "wakeru kokoro o," means "the heart that told you apart," the feeling that singled her out from many.
The last line, "omoishiranan," means "I hope you will understand," with "nan" a particle expressing a wish directed at another.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Kiyotada
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Tare to naku kakaru ōmi ni fukakaran iro o tokiwa ni ikaga tanoman
- Next Poem
-
Haru o dani matade nakinuru uguisu wa furusu bakari no kokoro narikeri