霜置かぬ春よりのちのながめにも
いつかは君が夜離れせざりし
いつかは君が夜離れせざりし
- Roma-ji
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Shimo okanu haru yori nochi no nagame ni mo itsuka wa kimi ga yogare sezarishi
- English Translation
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Even after spring,
when no frost is left to lie,
through the long rains' gloom,
when was there a single night
you did not stay away from me
- Meaning
- Even after spring, when no frost settles, through the long rains while I sat lost in thought—when was there ever a time you did not stay away?
- Commentary
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Book Thirteen Love Poems V 915
Headnote: "Reply."
The woman asks whether, even after spring when no frost settles, through the season of long rains, there was ever a time he did not stay away. To his excuse that he did not come because frosty mornings were hard, she retorts sharply that he did not come even in seasons without frost.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 914. Taking up its "oku shimo" and "yogare semashi ya," she answers with "shimo okanu" and "yogare sezarishi," turning his own words back on him to dismiss his excuse.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.
The first line, "Shimo okanu," means "where no frost settles," taking up "oku shimo no" in the preceding poem by negating it.
The second line, "haru yori nochi no," means "after spring."
The third line, "nagame ni mo," means "even in the long rains," with "nagame" joining long rains and "nagame," gazing lost in thought.
The fourth line, "itsuka wa kimi ga," means "when ever did you," with "ka wa" a binding particle of rhetorical question.
The last line, "yogare sezarishi," means "not stay away," closing the "ka wa" of the fourth line with the attributive "shi." The rhetorical sense is that he always stayed away, and she answers with the words of the preceding poem's last line.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Oku shimo no akatsukioki o omowazu wa kimi ga yodono ni yogare semashi ya
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Ise no umi no ama no matekata itoma nami nagaraenikeru mi o zo uramuru