鳴く虫のひとつ声にも聞こえぬは
心々にものや悲しき
心々にものや悲しき
- Roma-ji
-
Naku mushi no hitotsu koe ni mo kikoenu wa kokorogokoro ni mono ya kanashiki
- English Translation
-
The insects crying,
that they do not sound
as one single voice:
is it each with its own heart
that feels its own sorrow?
- Meaning
- That the crying insects do not sound like one voice: is it because each of them grieves in its own heart?
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 120
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
This is a poem by Izumi Shikibu. She wonders whether the many insect voices sound so varied because each insect cries with its own sorrow.
Grasping the variety of insect voices as a variety of hearts reveals Izumi Shikibu's sensitivity to the subtleties of human feeling.
The first line, "naku mushi no," means "of the crying insects," following the preceding poem, 119, in singing of insect voices.
The second line, "hitotsu koe ni mo," means "as one voice."
The third line, "kikoenu wa," means "that they do not sound," leading into a question of cause.
The fourth line, "kokorogokoro ni," means "each in its own heart," the different feelings of each insect.
The last line, "mono ya kanashiki," asks "are they sad?" with ya resolved in the attributive form kanashiki.
- Author
- Izumi Shikibu
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Yaemugura shigereru yado wa yomosugara mushi no ne kiku zo toridokoro naru
- Next Poem
-
Furusato ni kawarazarikeri suzumushi no Narumi no nobe no yūgure no koe