濃さまさる涙の色もかひぞなき
見すべき人のこの世ならねば
見すべき人のこの世ならねば
- Roma-ji
-
Kosa masaru namida no iro mo kai zo naki misubeki hito no konoyo naraneba
- English Translation
-
Ever deeper grows
the color of my tears,
yet all to no avail,
for the one who ought to see
is no longer in this world
- Meaning
- The color of my tears grows ever deeper, yet it is all in vain, for the one I should show them to is no longer of this world.
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Love Poems IV 817
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that tears ever deeper in color are of no use, because the one who should see them is no longer of this world. However deep the tears of grief grow in color, she mourns the emptiness of having no one left to show them to.
Like the sequence on crimson tears in 810 through 812 in this book, it sings of the color of tears, but turns here to tears with no one to see them.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," indicating that the poem is anonymous.
The first line, "Kosa masaru," means "growing deeper in hue."
The second line, "namida no iro mo," means "even the color of my tears," presupposing tears dyed crimson.
The third line, "kai zo naki," means "is in vain," with "zo" an emphatic binding particle closed by the attributive "naki," and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "misubeki hito no," means "the one to whom I should show them."
The last line, "konoyo naraneba," means "is not of this world," inverted with the third line to give the reason for the futility.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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