呉竹のふし沈みぬる露の身も
問ふ言の葉におきぞゐらるる
問ふ言の葉におきぞゐらるる
- Roma-ji
-
Kuretake no fushi shizuminuru tsuyu no mi mo tou koto no ha ni oki zo iraruru
- English Translation
-
Like a joint of bamboo
I lay sunken low and prone,
a dewdrop of a self,
yet at your words of solace
I can rise and sit once more
- Meaning
- Even I, fleeting as the dew, who lay sunk in grief like the joints of the bamboo, can rise and sit up again at your words of comfort.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 613
Even one as fleeting as the dew, who lay sunk in grief, is able to rise and sit up again thanks to the words of one who came to ask after her. The poet expresses gratitude for being consoled by words of condolence, set in the scene of bamboo and dew.
The dewdrop self also appears in the first line of 619 in this book, where it is about to vanish. In this poem, words of comfort lift the dewdrop self up again.
First line, 'kuretake no', means of the kuretake bamboo, leading to fushi, the joints of the bamboo, in the second line.
Second line, 'fushi shizuminuru', means lying sunk low, joining fushi, the bamboo's joints, with fusu, to lie prostrate in grief. The perfective nu appears in its attributive form.
Third line, 'tsuyu no mi mo', means even my dewdrop self, likening herself to dew settled on bamboo leaves. It is the same phrase as tsuyu no mi no in the first line of 619 in this book.
Fourth line, 'tou koto no ha ni', means at your words of inquiry, the ha, leaf, of koto no ha, words, tied to bamboo and dew.
Final line, 'oki zo iraruru', means I can rise and sit, joining oku, dew settling, with oku, to get up. The particle zo is answered by the attributive of the potential raru.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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