荒かりし波の心はつらけれど
すこしに寄せし声ぞ恋しき
すこしに寄せし声ぞ恋しき
- Roma-ji
-
Arakarishi nami no kokoro wa tsurakeredo sukoshi ni yoseshi koe zo koishiki
- English Translation
-
Though it pains me,
that heart of yours, so rough,
like the stormy waves,
I long for your voice,
which drew a little near
- Meaning
- Your heart, rough as stormy waves, gives me pain, yet I long for your voice, which came toward me just a little.
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Love Poems III 747
Headnote: "When he visited someone, she seated him outside the blind and spoke with him, but when he lifted the blind she made a great fuss, so he went home and sent this the next morning."
The poet says that her heart, rough as waves, pains him, yet he longs for the voice that drew a little near. Likening the uproar when he raised the blind to a rough sea, he pleads his longing for the few words they exchanged.
According to the headnote, he visited a woman who seated him outside her blind to talk, but when he lifted the blind she made a great commotion, so he left and sent the poem the following morning.
The poet, Fujiwara no Morimasa, lived in the mid-Heian period, and little is known of his career.
The first line, "Arakarishi," means "that was rough."
The second line, "nami no kokoro wa," means "your heart like waves," likening her great commotion to rough waves.
The third line, "tsurakeredo," means "though it is painful."
The fourth line, "sukoshi ni yoseshi," means "that drew a little near," with "yose," to draw near, a word associated with "nami," waves, in the second line.
The last line, "koe zo koishiki," means "I long for your voice," with "zo" an emphatic particle closing on the attributive "koishiki," a kakarimusubi pattern.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Morimasa
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Karakoromo kakete tanomanu toki zo naki hito no tsuma to wa omou monokara
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Izukata ni tachikakuretsutsu miyo tote ka omoi kuma naku hito no nariyuku