涙のみ袂にかかる世の中に
身さへ朽ちぬることぞ悲しき
身さへ朽ちぬることぞ悲しき
- Roma-ji
-
Namida nomi tamoto ni kakaru yo no naka ni mi sae kuchinuru koto zo kanashiki
- English Translation
-
In this world where tears
and tears alone keep falling
upon my sleeves,
that my very self should rot
away as well is what I grieve
- Meaning
- In this world where only tears fall upon my sleeves, it grieves me that even my body should rot away.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 404
In this world where only tears fall upon the sleeves, the poet laments, not only do the sleeves rot from weeping but the body itself is wasting away. The image of sleeves rotting with tears is pressed further into a lament for one's own decay.
Like poems 362 and 363 of this book, it ends with "koto zo kanashiki."
The first line, "namida nomi," uses "nomi": tears alone.
The second line, "tamoto ni kakaru," refers to tears falling on the sleeves.
The third line, "yo no naka ni," means in this world.
The fourth line, "mi sae kuchinuru," uses "sae" and the attributive perfective "nuru": even the body rots away.
The final line, "koto zo kanashiki," forms a kakari-musubi of "zo" and the attributive "kanashiki": that is what grieves me.
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Izuru iki no iru o matsu ma mo kataki yo o omoishiruramu sode wa ika ni zo
- Next Poem
-
Oriori no tsurasa o nani ni nagekikemu yagate naki yo mo aware arikeri