思ひやれ心の水の浅ければ
かきながすべき言の葉もなし
かきながすべき言の葉もなし
- Roma-ji
-
Omoiyare kokoro no mizu no asakereba kakinagasu beki koto no ha mo nashi
- English Translation
-
Think of how it is —
the water of my heart runs
so shallow that I
have no leaves of words at all
to set flowing with my brush
- Meaning
- Please understand: the water of my heart is so shallow that I have no words to set flowing with my brush.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 369
Likening the heart to water, the poet says it is so shallow that no words come to be written down. Seemingly a humble reply to a request for a poem or letter, it strings together associated words of the waterside — water, shallow, flowing, leaves.
Following the preceding poem, 368, which likened tears to a river, this poem likens the heart to water.
The first line, "omoiyare," is an imperative calling for understanding, with a break after the first line.
The second line, "kokoro no mizu no," likens the heart to water.
The third line, "asakereba," is a conditional of certainty: since it is shallow.
The fourth line, "kakinagasu beki," is a pivot word joining "writing" words out and "sweeping" water along, associated with the water of the second line.
The final line, "koto no ha mo nashi," ends with having no words; "ha" (leaves) is also associated with things carried by water.
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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