Ono no Komachi, KKS:552, IM:142 (Love)
Did he appear,
because I fell asleep
thinking of him?
If only I'd known I was dreaming
I'd never have wakened.
(Tr. Hirshfield & Aratani)
***
Was it because I fell asleep
Tormented by longing
That you appeared to me?
Had I but known I dreamt
I should have wished never to awaken.
(Tr. Helen Craig McCullough)
***
I fell asleep thinking of him,
and he came to me.
If I had known it was only a dream
I would never have awakened.
(Tr. Rexroth & Atsumi)
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The IM preface says: "Once a fickle man received this from a lady whom he no longer visited." (Tr. Helen Craig McCullough) |
