住吉の岸に来寄する沖つ波
間なくかけても思ほゆるかな
間なくかけても思ほゆるかな
- Roma-ji
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Sumiyoshi no kishi ni kiyosuru okitsunami manaku kakete mo omoyuru kana
- English Translation
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To Sumiyoshi's shore
the waves come rolling in,
from the open sea,
unceasing, ever breaking—
so you are always on my mind
- Meaning
- Like the waves from the open sea that break without pause on the shore of Sumiyoshi, you are always in my heart, never out of my thoughts.
- Commentary
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Book Twelve Love Poems IV 818
Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet says that like the waves from the open sea that come to the shore of Sumiyoshi, she is ceaselessly on his mind. He overlaps the endless breaking of the waves with a heart that never stops thinking of her.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a woman. The next poem, 819, is Ise's reply, and the two form an exchange.
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, "Sumiyoshi no," means "of Sumiyoshi," a famous poetic place in Settsu. The next poem, 819, replies by naming the same place as "Suminoe."
The second line, "kishi ni kiyosuru," means "drawing near the shore."
The third line, "okitsunami," means "waves of the open sea," with "tsu" an old case particle meaning "of." The first three lines form a preface leading into "manaku kakete."
The fourth line, "manaku kakete mo," means "without pause," with "kake" joining waves "breaking over" the shore and holding someone "in one's heart."
The last line, "omoyuru kana," means "how I find myself thinking of you," with "kana" expressing emotion.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Kosa masaru namida no iro mo kai zo naki misubeki hito no konoyo naraneba
- Next Poem
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Suminoe no me ni chikakaraba kishi ni ite nami no kazu o mo yomubeki mono o