頼むらんしるべもいさや一つ世の
別れにだにも惑ふ心は
別れにだにも惑ふ心は
- Roma-ji
-
Tanomuran shirube mo isaya hitotsu yo no wakare ni dani mo madou kokoro wa
- English Translation
-
The guide you rely on—
well, I wonder, can it serve?
this heart of mine
that is lost and wanders, even
at partings in this one world.
- Meaning
- The guide you are relying on—I wonder, can it really serve? For my heart is bewildered even by partings within this one world.
- Commentary
-
Miscellaneous Poems 1140
Headnote: "Reply"
This is Saigyō's reply to the lady's poem 1138. The guide you rely on, he answers, well, I am not so sure, for my heart is bewildered even by partings within this very world.
Entrusted with guidance on the Buddhist path, Saigyō humbly doubts his fitness, being shaken even by parting in this life. At the same time the poem shares the sorrow of the present separation between Sanuki and the capital.
First line, “tanomuran”: ran conjectures the present, "that you rely on."
Second line, “shirube mo isaya”: isaya means "well, I wonder," hesitating; it takes up shirube from her poem.
Third line, “hitotsu yo no”: of this same world, implying a contrast with the next.
Fourth line, “wakare ni dani mo”: dani infers, "even at partings in this world."
Fifth line, “madou kokoro wa”: a heart that wanders lost, the inversion giving the reason he is no reliable guide.
- Author
- Saigyō
- Source
- Sankashu
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