恋すてふ名をだに流せ涙川
つれなき人も聞きやわたると
つれなき人も聞きやわたると
- Roma-ji
-
Koisu chō na o dani nagase namidagawa tsurenaki hito mo kiki ya wataru to
- English Translation
-
That I am in love,
at least let that word flow out,
O river of tears,
for even the cold-hearted one
might hear of it and cross
- Meaning
- River of tears, at least let the rumor that I am in love flow out into the world; perhaps even that heartless one will hear of it.
- Commentary
-
Book Seven Love Poems I 359
Calling on the river of tears, the poet asks it at least to carry abroad the rumor that he is in love, for then even the heartless one might hear of it. Stringing together words tied to a river, namidagawa, nagasu and wataru, the poem pleads a love that does not reach its object.
Some manuscripts mark it 'topic unknown'.
The first line of poem 379 in this book is also 'koisu chō', likewise singing of the rumor of being in love. The river of tears also appears in poems 375 through 377 in this book.
First line, 'koisu chō', means that I am in love, chō being a contraction of to iu. It is the same as the first line of poem 379 in this book.
Second line, 'na o dani nagase', means at least let my name flow, na meaning reputation and dani meaning at least. Nagasu, to make flow, is a word related to the river of tears in the third line.
Third line, 'namidagawa', is a poetic word for tears flowing like a river, here addressed directly. The poem breaks after the third line. It is the same word as the first line of poems 376 and 377 in this book.
Fourth line, 'tsurenaki hito mo', means even that cold one.
Final line, 'kiki ya wataru to', means might hear of it all along, wataru echoing crossing a river and forming a related word with the river of tears in the third line.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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