思ふてふことをぞねたく古しける
君にのみこそ言ふべかりけれ
君にのみこそ言ふべかりけれ
- Roma-ji
-
Omou chō koto o zo netaku furushikeru kimi ni nomi koso iu bekarikere
- English Translation
-
The words "I love you"
I have, to my vexation,
worn out long ago—
it was to you alone
that I should have said them
- Meaning
- To my vexation, I have worn out the words "I love you" long ago. They were words I should have said to you alone.
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Love Poems III 741
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that to his vexation he has worn out the words "I love you," which he should have said only to her. He voices his frustration that words grown stale with use cannot carry his true feelings.
The poet, Mibu no Tadamine, was one of the compilers of the Kokin Wakashū. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, and his "ariake no tsurenaku mieshi wakare yori" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
The first line, "Omou chō," means "the word 'love,'" with "chō" a contraction of "to iu."
The second line, "koto o zo netaku," means "the word, vexingly," with "zo" an emphatic particle.
The third line, "furushikeru," means "I have worn it out," closing with the attributive "keru" in answer to "zo" in the second line, a kakarimusubi pattern. The poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "kimi ni nomi koso," means "to you alone," with "koso" an emphatic particle.
The last line, "iu bekarikere," means "I should have said," closing with the perfective "kere" in answer to "koso" in the fourth line, a kakarimusubi pattern.
- Author
- Mibu no Tadamine
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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