音せぬは苦しきものを身に近く
鳴るとて厭ふ人もありけり
鳴るとて厭ふ人もありけり
- Roma-ji
-
Oto senu wa kurushiki mono o mi ni chikaku naru tote itou hito mo arikeri
- English Translation
-
It is hard to bear
when there's no sound from you, and yet
when something sounds close by,
there are those, I find, who shrink
and wish that it would stop
- Meaning
- Hearing no word from you is painful, and yet there are people, I find, who dislike a sound simply because it rings close by.
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 326
Lamenting the pain of hearing nothing from the beloved, the poet observes that some people, by contrast, dislike sounds that ring close by. Setting herself, longing for a sound, against those who shun one, the poem heightens the loneliness of receiving no word.
The first line, "oto senu wa" (that there is no sound), means no news, singled out with "wa."
The second line, "kurushiki mono o," uses the concessive "mono o": though it is painful, with a break after the second line.
The third line, "mi ni chikaku" (close to oneself), means near at hand.
The fourth line, "naru tote itou," means disliking a sound because it rings, answering "oto" in the first line.
The final line, "hito mo arikeri," ends with the exclamatory "keri," realizing that such people exist.
- Author
- Izumi Shikibu
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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Shinoburu mo kurushikarikeri kazu naranu mi ni wa namida no nakaramashikaba
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Hito no yo ni futatabi shinuru mono naraba shinobikeri ya to kokoromitemashi