夏はただ今宵ばかりと思ひ寝の
夢路に涼し秋の初風
夢路に涼し秋の初風
- Roma-ji
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Natsu wa tada koyoi bakari to omoine no yumeji ni suzushi aki no hatsukaze
- English Translation
-
Summer, I thought, now
has but this one night to go—
falling asleep so,
cool along the path of dreams,
the first wind of autumn blows.
- Meaning
- Thinking that summer had only this one night left, I fell asleep—and cool along the path of my dreams blew the first wind of autumn.
- Commentary
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Summer Poems 174
Headnote: "Composed at the end of summer"
On the last night of summer, the poet fell asleep thinking that summer had only tonight left, and the first wind of autumn blew cool even into his dreams. In the setting of a dream, he overlays the heart that grieves for summer with autumn's early arrival.
Kamo no Mabuchi criticized omoine ("falling asleep in thought") as not a classical word and an awkward expression, and also found the device "cool along the path of dreams" unsuitable.
Line 1, "summer, now only," shows regret at summer's end.
Line 2, "but this one night," marks the last night of summer.
Line 3, omoine, means falling asleep while thinking, showing the poet drifting off with summer's end on his mind.
Line 4, "cool along the path of dreams," is stated outright, and the poem pauses here. The autumn wind that blew on the night robes of a doze in 172 here reaches deeper, into the dreams of sleep.
Line 5 ends on a noun, giving last the first wind that heralds autumn.
- Author
- Minamoto no Sanetomo
- Source
- Kinkaishu
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