嘆きあまりつひに色にぞ出でぬべき
言はぬを人の知らばこそあらめ
言はぬを人の知らばこそあらめ
- Roma-ji
-
Nageki amari tsui ni iro ni zo idenu beki iwanu o hito no shiraba koso arame
- English Translation
-
So great is my grief
that at last into my face
it is sure to show;
if what I do not speak of
she could know, it would be well.
- Meaning
- My grief is so great that at last it will surely show in my face; if only she could know what I have not spoken, all would be well.
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Love Poems I 625
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that the poet's grief is so great that it will at last show in his face, and that it would be well if only she could know what he has not spoken. It expresses the pain of a love left unspoken that does not reach the beloved, while grief mounts until it can no longer be hidden. It shares the phrase "iro ni izu" with 622 and 633, and in wishing that the unspoken be known, it echoes the preceding poem, 624, which sought to reveal a hidden heart.
First line, "nageki amari," means "so great is my grief," speaking of feeling that keeps mounting.
Second line, "tsui ni iro ni zo," means "at last in my face," with the binding particle "zo" resolved by "beki" in the third line.
Third line, "idenu beki," means "it is sure to show," with "nu" perfective and "beki" the attributive form of the conjectural "beshi." The poem breaks after this third line. It is nearly the same phrasing as the fourth and final lines of 633, "tsui ni iro ni mo idenu beki kana."
Fourth line, "iwanu o hito no," means "what I do not speak, if she."
Final line, "shiraba koso arame," means "if she knew, it would be well," with the binding particle "koso" resolved by "me," the perfective form of the conjectural "mu." It implies that grief mounts because she does not know.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Shinoburu mo ta ga yue naranu mono nareba ima wa nani ka wa kimi ni hedatemu
- Next Poem
-
Au koto o matsu nite toshi no henuru kana mi wa Suminoe ni oinu mono yue