君を思ふ心長さは秋の夜に
いづれまさると空に知らなん
いづれまさると空に知らなん
- Roma-ji
-
Kimi o omou kokoronagasa wa aki no yo ni izure masaru to sora ni shiranan
- English Translation
-
The length of my heart
that thinks only of you—
against autumn nights
let the sky above decide
which of them is longer still
- Meaning
- Let the sky decide which is longer: the long nights of autumn, or the length of my heart that thinks of you.
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Love Poems IV 842
Headnote: "Reply."
The poet asks the sky to judge which is greater: the length of his heart that loves her, or the long autumn night. To the woman who laments that his heart is growing distant, he insists on his constancy, saying his love is no shorter than an autumn night.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 841, taking up its "autumn" and comparing the length of his heart with that of the autumn night. It is the third in the sequence singing of autumn images.
The poet, Minamoto no Koreshige, was a son of Major Counselor Minamoto no Noboru and came from the Saga Genji. He was later adopted by Emperor Kōkō and rose to the Junior Third Rank and Provisional Middle Counselor.
The first line, "Kimi o omou," means "that thinks of you," a hypermetric line of six syllables.
The second line, "kokoronagasa wa," means "the length of my heart," expressing a heart that stays constant and long.
The third line, "aki no yo ni," means "with the autumn night," setting the long autumn night as the measure. It takes up "aki" from the preceding poem, 841.
The fourth line, "izure masaru to," means "which is the greater."
The last line, "sora ni shiranan," means "let the sky know," with "nan" expressing a wish directed at another. 866 in this book also closes with "hito mo shiranan."
- Author
- Minamoto no Koreshige
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Mata sarishi aki wa kinuredo mishi hito no kokoro wa yoso ni nari mo yuku kana
- Next Poem
-
Kagamiyama akete kitsureba akigiri no kesa ya tatsuran aumi chō na wa