春を待つ諏訪のわたりもあるものを
いつを限りにすべきつららぞ
いつを限りにすべきつららぞ
- Roma-ji
-
Haru o matsu Suwa no watari mo aru mono o itsu o kagiri ni subeki tsurara zo
- English Translation
-
Waiting for the spring,
there is the crossing at Suwa
that will melt in time,
but when is it meant to end,
this ice that has locked my heart?
- Meaning
- Even the ice crossing on Lake Suwa waits for spring to melt, yet when will the ice of my love ever come to an end?
- Commentary
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Love Poems 607
Headnote: "Love expressed through ice"
The topic is love expressed through ice. Lake Suwa in Shinano freezes over in winter so that one can cross on the ice, yet even that melts once spring comes. The ice of the poet's love, though, shows no sign of ever thawing. The beloved's frozen coldness, or the poet's own grief that never melts, is set against the ice of Suwa.
First line, “haru o matsu”: that waits for spring to melt, modifying the crossing in the second line.
Second line, “Suwa no watari mo”: Suwa is the lake in Shinano, and watari is the crossing made over its frozen surface.
Third line, “aru mono o”: mono o is concessive: though there is such a thing.
Fourth line, “itsu o kagiri ni”: with what time as its end.
Fifth line, “subeki tsurara zo”: tsurara here is ice, and zo presses the question; this answers the ice of the topic.
- Author
- Saigyō
- Source
- Sankashu
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