Naku koe mo kikoenu mono no kanashiki wa shinobi ni moyuru hotaru narikeri - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

鳴く声も聞こえぬものの悲しきは
忍びに燃ゆる蛍なりけり

Roma-ji: Naku koe mo kikoenu mono no kanashiki wa shinobi ni moyuru hotaru narikeri
English Translation: Though it makes no sound,
no cry that can be heard,
what moves me to grief
is the firefly, I find,
burning on in secret.
Meaning: What is so sad, though it makes no cry that anyone can hear, is the firefly, burning away in secret.
Commentary: Book Two Summer Poems 73

The poem sees in the firefly, which makes no sound but silently gives off light, the sorrow of a hidden love, one kept within the heart so that no one may know.
Together with the next poem, 74, two firefly poems stand side by side, sharing the final line "is the firefly." This poem sees a hidden heart in the firefly, while the next likens fireflies to cormorant fishing fires, treating the same subject as feeling and as scene.

First line, "no sound," contrasts the firefly with insects and birds that voice their feelings.
Second line marks it as a creature that makes no sound.
Third line presents sorrow as the theme of the poem.
Fourth line overlaps the firefly's secret light with a love that burns unseen.
Fifth line ends with keri, expressing realization, and shares its wording with the next poem.
Author: Fujiwara no Takato
Source: Shika Wakashu
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