妻恋ひて人目つつまぬ鹿の音も
うらやむ袖のみさをなるかは
うらやむ袖のみさをなるかは
- Roma-ji
-
Tsuma koite hitome tsutsumanu shika no ne mo urayamu sode no misao naru ka wa
- English Translation
-
Calling for its mate,
hiding nothing from men's eyes,
even the stag's cry
my sleeves envy, and can they
ever then remain unmoved?
- Meaning
- My sleeves envy even the stag that cries for its mate without a care for who may hear; how could they stay dry and composed?
- Commentary
-
Love Poems 602
Headnote: "Love expressed through the deer"
The topic is love expressed through the deer. The poet envies the autumn stag that calls for its mate without caring who hears. Bound to a secret love, he cannot cry aloud and can only wet his sleeves with tears. The stag that can voice its love openly is set against the poet who silently soaks his sleeves.
First line, “tsuma koite”: longing for its mate; the autumn stag was said to call for its doe.
Second line, “hitome tsutsumanu”: not hiding from people's eyes.
Third line, “shika no ne mo”: even the stag's cry, answering the topic.
Fourth line, “urayamu sode no”: my sleeves that envy it.
Fifth line, “misao naru ka wa”: misao is calm composure, and ka wa is rhetorical: can they stay composed? No, they are wet with tears.
- Author
- Saigyō
- Source
- Sankashu
- Prev Poem
-
Kuchite tada shioreba yoshi ya waga sode mo hagi no shizue no tsuyu ni yosoete
- Next Poem
-
Hitokata ni midaru tomo naki waga koi ya kaze sadamaranu nobe no karukaya