かねてより涙ぞ袖をうち濡らす
浮かべる舟に乗らむと思へば
浮かべる舟に乗らむと思へば
- Roma-ji
-
Kanete yori namida zo sode o uchinurasu ukaberu fune ni noramu to omoeba
- English Translation
-
Already, ahead
of time, my tears are falling
to drench my sleeves,
when I think I am to board
a boat that floats upon the waves
- Meaning
- Even before I leave, my tears are soaking my sleeves, when I think that I must board a boat that floats upon the waves.
- Commentary
-
Book Nineteen Parting Poems 1347
Headnote: "Sent to someone going somewhere by boat."
The poet says that tears are already wetting the sleeves at the thought of boarding a floating boat. Thinking of setting out by boat, the poet tells of tears that wet the sleeves even before departure, with both the uncertainty of the voyage and the sorrow of parting.
The headnote is the same as that of Ise's earlier poem, "Sent to someone going somewhere by boat," but from its content the poem seems to voice the feelings of the one departing by boat. The next poem is Ise's reply, and the two form an exchange.
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known.
The first line, "Kanete yori," means "already, before setting out."
The second line, "namida zo sode o," means "tears, my sleeves," with "zo" an emphatic binding particle.
The third line, "uchinurasu," means "drench," closing the "zo" of the second line with the attributive "nurasu." The poem pauses here, inverted with the lower verse.
The fourth line, "ukaberu fune ni," means "a boat that floats upon the waves," an image of a precarious voyage.
The last line, "noramu to omoeba," means "when I think I shall board it," with "ba" giving the cause.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Fune naku wa Ama no Kawa made motometemu kogitsutsu shio no naka ni kiezu wa
- Next Poem
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Osaetsutsu ware wa sode ni zo sekitomuru fune kosu shio ni nasaji to omoeba