来ぬ人を恨みも果てじ契りおきし
その言の葉も情けならずや
その言の葉も情けならずや
- Roma-ji
-
Konu hito o urami mo hateji chigiri okishi sono koto no ha mo nasake narazu ya
- English Translation
-
The one who comes not
I will not resent fully —
the words of promise
once made to me, are they not
a kindness all the same
- Meaning
- I will not resent to the end the one who does not come; were not even those words of promise a kindness in themselves?
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Love Poems II 248
The poet resolves not to resent completely the one who promised to come and did not. Even if the promise went unkept, the poem shows a restrained heart trying to see the very words of promise as a kindness.
The first line, "konu hito o" (the one who does not come), uses the attributive negative.
The second line, "urami mo hateji," uses the negative volitional "ji": I will not resent to the end. A break falls after the second line.
The third line, "chigiri okishi," has six syllables, an extra-syllable line, and uses the attributive past "shi" for a promise once made.
The fourth line, "sono koto no ha mo" (those words too), refers to the words of promise, with "mo" adding "these as well."
The final line, "nasake narazu ya," closes with a question meaning surely it was a kindness. Poem 209 of Book Seven also questions the "nasake" (kindness) of a cold lover.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Tadamichi
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Kitari tomo nuru ma mo araji natsu no yo no ariake no tsuki mo katabukinikeri
- Next Poem
-
Yūgure ni mono omou koto wa masaru ya to ware narazaramu hito ni towaba ya