今よりは訪へとも言はじ我ぞただ
人を忘るることを知るべき
人を忘るることを知るべき
- Roma-ji
-
Ima yori wa toe tomo iwaji ware zo tada hito o wasururu koto o shiru beki
- English Translation
-
From now on I will
not even say to you "come";
it is I alone
who should learn what it is
to forget the one I love
- Meaning
- From now on I will not even ask you to visit me; it is I, rather, who should learn how to forget.
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Love Poems II 266
The poet resolves never again to ask the beloved to come, and says that she herself should learn how to forget. The poem shows a resolve to escape the pain of waiting, with lingering attachment beneath it.
The first line, "ima yori wa" (from now on), marks the start of a resolve.
The second line, "toe tomo iwaji," combines the imperative "toe" (come) and negative volitional "ji": I will not even say "come." A break falls after the second line.
The third line, "ware zo tada," singles out the speaker with the emphatic "zo."
The fourth line, "hito o wasururu" (to forget someone), refers to forgetting the beloved. The next two poems, 267 and 268, share the same fourth line, forming a set of three on forgetting.
The final line, "koto o shiru beki," closes "zo" with the attributive "beki," a kakari-musubi meaning she ought to learn it.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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Wasuraruru mi wa kotowari to shirinagara omoiaenu wa namida narikeri
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Saritote wa tare ni ka iwamu ima wa tada hito o wasururu kokoro oshieyo