賤の女がゑぐ摘む沢の薄氷
いつまで経べき我が身なるらむ
いつまで経べき我が身なるらむ
- Roma-ji
-
Shizu no me ga egu tsumu sawa no usugōri itsu made fu beki waga mi naruramu
- English Translation
-
Like the thin ice on
the marsh where the humble maid
gathers egu shoots,
how long, I wonder, can this
self of mine still linger on
- Meaning
- Like the thin ice on the marsh where a humble girl gathers egu shoots, how long, I wonder, can I go on living in this world?
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 349
Taking up the thin ice on a marsh where a humble girl gathers egu shoots as something that may melt at any moment, the poet overlays his own life on it and wonders how long he can live on. The early spring scene of the first three lines becomes a figure for a fragile life.
Following the preceding poem, 348, which sang of a threshold for leaving the world, this poem sings of the frailty of life. The next poem, 350, ends with the same "waga mi naruramu," so the two stand side by side.
The first line, "shizu no me ga" (a humble maid), names a woman of low station.
The second line, "egu tsumu sawa no," refers to gathering egu on the marsh, an early spring scene.
The third line, "usugōri" (thin ice), is the ice on the marsh, a figure for a life soon gone. The first three lines form the metaphor leading to the self.
The fourth line, "itsu made fu beki," uses the attributive potential "beki": how long can I pass the time?
The final line, "waga mi naruramu," combines the copula "nari" and conjectural "ramu": is such my self? The next poem has the same final line.
- Author
- Minamoto no Toshiyori
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Ashibi taku maya no sumika wa yo no naka o akugareizuru kadode narikeri
- Next Poem
-
Mukashi mishi kumoi o koite ashitazu no sawabe ni naku ya waga mi naruramu