言はぬ間は下這ふ葦の根をしげみ
隙なき恋を人知るらめや
隙なき恋を人知るらめや
- Roma-ji
-
Iwanu ma wa shita hau ashi no ne o shigemi hima naki koi o hito shiru rame ya
- English Translation
-
While I leave it unsaid,
like the reeds whose roots grow thick
creeping underneath,
this love that leaves no gap,
would anyone know of it
- Meaning
- As long as I do not speak of it, like reeds whose roots grow thick, creeping beneath the water, this love that leaves no gap, would anyone know of it?
- Commentary
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Book Seven Love Poems I 401
While the poet keeps his love unspoken, the beloved can hardly know of this ceaseless love, thick as the roots of reeds creeping under the water. The reed roots growing densely beneath unseen water stand for a love that mounts in secret.
It shares the final line 'hito shiru rame ya' with poem 368 in this book, and both sing of hidden love through a scene beneath the surface.
The author, Tadamichi, is Fujiwara no Tadamichi. A son of the Regent Fujiwara no Tadazane, he served in turn as Regent, Chancellor and Grand Minister, was known as the Hosshōji Lay Priest, and has a poem in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
First line, 'iwanu ma wa', means while I do not say it.
Second line, 'shita hau ashi no', means of the reeds creeping beneath, singing of what lies hidden below, like 'shita ni' in poem 368 in this book.
Third line, 'ne o shigemi', means because the roots grow thick, the form of o with an adjective stem and mi expressing a cause. The first three lines form a preface leading to hima naki in the fourth line.
Fourth line, 'hima naki koi o', means this love without a gap.
Final line, 'hito shiru rame ya', means would anyone know, a rhetorical question meaning no one would. It is the same final line as poem 368 in this book.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Tadamichi
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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Nochi no yo to chigirishi hito mo naki mono o shinabaya to nomi iu zo hakanaki
- Next Poem
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Machishi yo no fukeshi o nani ni nagekikemu omoitaete mo sugushikeru mi o