数ならぬ身は山の端にあらねども
多くのつきを過ぐしつるかな
多くのつきを過ぐしつるかな
- Roma-ji
-
Kazu naranu mi wa yama no ha ni aranedomo ōku no tsuki o sugushitsuru kana
- English Translation
-
Worthless as I am,
no mountain ridge am I, yet
like the ridge, I too
have watched so many moons,
so many months go by
- Meaning
- I am no mountain ridge, worthless as I am, yet like a ridge that sees so many moons pass over it, I have let so many months go by in waiting.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems V 966
Headnote: "Composed when he had set his heart on someone and kept courting her, but was always kept waiting."
The poet says that he, a worthless person, is no mountain ridge, yet has let many moons pass. As a mountain ridge sees many moons pass over it, he too has spent many months only waiting, lamenting the length of a love that keeps him waiting.
According to the headnote, he set his heart on someone and kept courting her, but was always kept waiting. The opening "kazu naranu mi wa" is the same as in 977 in this book.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.
The first line, "Kazu naranu," means "of no account," a self-deprecating phrase.
The second line, "mi wa yama no ha ni," means "I am a mountain ridge." Like 977 in this book, it runs on as "kazu naranu mi wa."
The third line, "aranedomo," means "though I am not," with "domo" an adversative conjunctive particle.
The fourth line, "ōku no tsuki o," means "many moons," with "tsuki" joining the moon in the sky and months.
The last line, "sugushitsuru kana," means "how I have let them pass," with "kana" an exclamatory final particle.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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