ほどもなく暮るると思ひし冬の日の
心もとなき折もありけり
心もとなき折もありけり
- Roma-ji
-
Hodo mo naku kururu to omoishi fuyu no hi no kokoromotonaki ori mo arikeri
- English Translation
-
The winter's short day
that I thought would soon be gone,
darkening so fast —
even it, I find, at times
can leave me waiting, restless
- Meaning
- The winter day, which I had thought would darken all too soon, has its times, I find, when I wait impatiently for it to end.
- Commentary
-
Book Seven Love Poems I 231
Even the short winter day, which he thought would quickly darken, can feel to one waiting for a night with the beloved as if it will never end. Through the familiar shortness of a winter day, the poem shows how love transforms one's sense of time.
The first line, "hodo mo naku" (before long), points to the brevity of a winter day.
The second line, "kururu to omoishi," uses the attributive past "shi" to recall what he once believed.
The third line, "fuyu no hi no" (the winter day), refers to a short day in winter. Where poem 192 of this book sang of long years unchanged, this poem measures the length of a single day by love.
The fourth line, "kokoromotonaki," means restless and impatient, expressing a heart that waits anxiously for a night of meeting.
The final line, "ori mo arikeri," ends with the exclamatory "keri," realizing there are such times.
- Author
- Dōmyō
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Harima naru Shikama ni somuru anagachi ni hito o koishi to omou koro kana
- Next Poem
-
Koiwabite hitori fuseya ni yomosugara otsuru namida ya Otonashi no taki