我ならぬ草葉も物は思ひけり
袖より外に置ける白露
袖より外に置ける白露
- Roma-ji
-
Ware naranu kusaba mo mono wa omoikeri sode yori hoka ni okeru shiratsuyu
- English Translation
-
Even the grasses,
that are not I, are grieving
with a brooding heart—
the white dew lying elsewhere
than on these sleeves of mine
- Meaning
- So even the grass leaves, which are not I, have their sorrows—for there lies white dew elsewhere than on my tear-soaked sleeves.
- Commentary
-
Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems IV 1281
Headnote: "At the house of the Minister of the Left, when people drew topics and composed poems, he drew the character for 'dew.'"
The poet says that even the grass leaves, which are not he, are brooding, since white dew lies elsewhere than on his sleeves. Seeing the dew as tears, he playfully remarks that since dew lies on the grass as well as on his tear-wet sleeves, the grass too must be lost in thought.
According to the headnote, at the house of the Minister of the Left, people drew topics by lot and composed poems, and he drew the character "dew." The Minister of the Left seems to be Fujiwara no Saneyori.
The poet, "Fujiwara no Tadakuni," is Fujiwara no Tadakuni, thought to have been an official of the mid-Heian period, though little is known of his life.
The first line, "Ware naranu," means "that are not I."
The second line, "kusaba mo mono wa," means "even the grass leaves."
The third line, "omoikeri," means "are brooding, I see," with "keri" for realization. The poem pauses here, inverted with the lower verse.
The fourth line, "sode yori hoka ni," means "elsewhere than on my sleeves," sleeves wet with tears.
The last line, "okeru shiratsuyu," means "the white dew lying there," seeing the dew as tears, and ending on a noun.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Tadakuni
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Ashihiki no yama no yamadori kai mo nashi mine no shirakumo tachi shi yoraneba
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