思ふより言ふはおろかになりぬれば
たとへて言はん言の葉ぞなき
たとへて言はん言の葉ぞなき
- Roma-ji
-
Omou yori iu wa oroka ni narinureba tatoete iwan koto no ha zo naki
- English Translation
-
Next to what I feel,
what I say falls short of it,
so it comes to be
that I have no words at all
to offer as a likeness.
- Meaning
- Whatever I say falls short of what I feel, so there are no words with which I could express it by comparison.
- Commentary
-
Book Twenty Lament Poems 1308
Headnote: "Sent to Ise to ask after her in this matter"
The poet says that speaking falls short of what one feels, so there are no words to express it by comparison. The headnote shows it was sent to Ise to console her for the death of her prince. Against Ise's grief in the preceding poem, 1307, he says that though he would pour out words of condolence, words cannot reach the depth of what he feels, and by stating the limits of language he conveys a deeper sympathy.
The author, Taira no Sadafun, also called Heichū, is known as a great lover and is taken to be the hero of the Heichū Monogatari. He is one of the Thirty-Six Later Immortal Poets.
First line, "omou yori," means "compared with what I feel."
Second line, "iu wa oroka ni," means "saying falls short," with "oroka" meaning inadequate to express it.
Third line, "narinureba," means "since it becomes so," with "nure" the perfective form of the perfective "nu" and "ba" expressing cause.
Fourth line, "tatoete iwan," means "to say by comparison," with "n" an auxiliary softening the statement. It shares with the final line of 1286 in this book, "nani ni tatoen," the sense that nothing can compare to the grief.
Final line, "koto no ha zo naki," means "there are no words," with the binding particle "zo" resolved by "naki," the attributive form of the adjective "nashi."
- Author
- Taira no Sadafun
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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