Ayashiku mo waga miyamaki no moyuru kana omoi wa hito ni tsukete shi mono o - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あやしくもわがみやまきの燃ゆるかな
おもひは人に付けてしものを

Roma-ji: Ayashiku mo waga miyamaki no moyuru kana omoi wa hito ni tsukete shi mono o
English Translation: How strange it is —
this deep-mountain tree, my self,
has caught fire and burns,
though the flame of my longing
I meant to set to another
Meaning: How strange that the deep-mountain tree of my own body is the one burning, when it was in another's heart that I meant to kindle the fire of love.
Commentary: Book Seven Love Poems I 187

Comparing love to fire, the poet marvels that the flame he meant to light in his beloved has instead set his own body ablaze. Likening himself to a tree deep in the mountains, he conveys the torment of love with a witty note of surprise.
This poem opens the first book of love poems in the Shikawakashu, and its author is Fujiwara no Tadamichi, regent during the reign of Emperor Sutoku. The book that begins with burning fire closes with a poem likening tears to a waterfall.

The first line, "ayashiku mo" (how strange), expresses surprise at the unexpected and sets out the wonder that runs through the whole poem.
The second line, "waga miyamaki no," overlaps "waga mi" (my self) with "miyamaki" (deep-mountain tree), casting the poet's body as a tree in the remote hills.
The third line, "moyuru kana" (is burning), ends with the exclamatory "kana," creating a break after the third line. Opening the book with fire, it answers the final poem, 232, which likens tears to the Otonashi Falls, setting fire against water.
The fourth line, "omoi wa hito ni," plays on the "hi" of "omoi" (longing) as "hi" (fire), indicating that the flame of love was meant for the other person.
The final line, "tsukete shi mono o," uses the past auxiliary "shi" with the concessive "mono o" to lament that it was the beloved, after all, whom he had set alight.
Author: Fujiwara no Tadamichi
Source: Shika Wakashu
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