Her reply.
| nagarazi to omoFu kokoro Fa midu no awa ni yosoFuru Fito no tanomarenu kana | Not for any length Have you thought of me— If, as foam upon the waters, A man imagines himself, then He is quite untrustworthy! |
Tag Archives: foam
Aru tokoro no uta’awase zassai
水の泡や種となるらむ浮草のまく人なみの上に生ふれば
| mizu no awa ya tane to naruramu ukikusa no maku hitonami no ue ni oureba | Might the foam upon the waters Be its seeds, perhaps? When the drifting waterweed Twines atop a wave Where it does grow… |
1[i]
山里は冬ぞさびしさまさりける人めも草もかれぬとおもへば
| yamazato wa fuyu zo sabishisa masarikeru hitome mo kusa mo karenu to omoeba | In a mountain retreat Winter’s loneliness Overwhelms As both folks’ gaze and the grasses, too Have withered away, I feel… |
2[ii]
今日人をこふる心はあすか川流るる水に劣らざりけり
| kyō hito o kouru kokoro wa asukagawa nagaruru mizu ni otorazarikeri | Today, for her The love within my heart, By the River Asuka’s Running waters Will not be outdone! |
[i] This poem is included in Shūishū (IX: 524) as an anonymous poem with the headnote ‘Produced but not matched in a poetry contest.’
[ii] This poem is included in Muneyuki-shū (15) with the headnote ‘For a poetry match’.
[iii] This poem is included in Muneyuki-shū (16) with the headnote ‘For a poetry match’.
Kinkai wakashū 447
Kinkai wakashū 192
KKS XVII: 910
Kinkai wakashū 79
Kinkai wakashū 78
SIS XX: 1313
When her grandchild passed away.
うきながらきえせぬ物は身なりけりうらやましきは水のあわかな
| ukinagara kiesenu mono Fa mi narikeri urayamasiki Fa midu no awa kana | How cruel it is that What remains here yet Is me— How I envy The foam upon the waters! |
Nakatsukasa
SIS XI: 636
Sent when he saw the Tsutsumi Middle Counsellor Lady of the Bedchamber.[1]
あなこひしはつかに人をみづのあわのきえかへるともしらせてしかな
| ana koFisi Fatuka ni Fito wo midu no awa no kiekaFeru tomo sirasetesi kana | O, how strong my love! Faintly, a lady Did I see, who as foam upon the water Vanished once more, yet I had to let her know! |
The Ononomiya Palace Minister
[1] A reference to Fujiwara no Sōshi (Kuwako) 藤原桑子 (dates unknown), the daughter of Fujiwara no Kanesuke 藤原兼輔 (877-933), who was an Imperial Concubine to Emperor Daigo 醍醐 (885-930; r 897-930), and the mother of Imperial Prince Nori’akira 章明 (924-990).
KKS II: 81
Composed on seeing cherry blossom flowing along the stream in the grounds of the Palace of the Crown Prince.
枝よりもあだにちりにし花なればおちても水の泡とこそなれ
| eda yori mo ada ni tirinisi Fana nareba otitemo midu no awa to koso nare | From the branch Have simply scattered These blossoms, so they are Fallen, yet the waters’ Foam have they become. |
Sugano no Takayo