わびつつも同じ都は慰めき
旅寝ぞ恋の限りなりける
旅寝ぞ恋の限りなりける
- Roma-ji
-
Wabitsutsu mo onaji miyako wa nagusameki tabine zo koi no kagiri narikeru
- English Translation
-
Though I grieved for you,
while we shared the same city
I found some solace;
it is sleeping on a journey
that is love's furthest extreme
- Meaning
- Though I pined for you, I found some comfort while we lived in the same capital; it is sleeping alone on a journey that is the very limit of love's pain.
- Commentary
-
Book Seven Love Poems I 210
Even when he could not meet the beloved, the poet found some comfort while living in the same capital; only on a journey, sleeping far away, does he realize that this is love's greatest pain. The poem shows how great the simple solace of sharing the same sky was, known only after parting.
The first line, "wabitsutsu mo" (though I kept grieving), uses the continuative "tsutsu" and "mo."
The second line, "onaji miyako wa" (in the same capital), contrasts, with "wa," the time spent near the beloved with the journey.
The third line, "nagusameki," uses the past "ki" to recall that there was comfort in the capital, with a break after the third line.
The fourth line, "tabine zo koi no," singles out the journey's lonely sleep with the emphatic "zo." The contrast between capital and journey, nearness and distance, forms the backbone of the poem.
The final line, "kagiri narikeru," closes "zo" with the attributive "keru," ending in the realization that sleeping on a journey is love's extreme.
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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