Monday, February 4, 2008
Posted at 10:59 PM
This poem appears as No. 658 in the Kokin Wakashu, an old anthology of poems from the 12th century. Komachi was a classic even at that time.
She lived in the 9th century.

夢ぢには
あしもやすめず
かよへども
うつつにひとめ
見しごとはあらず

A line by line translation:

in [my] dreams / along dream paths
without resting my legs
[I] go often [to you]
in the real world,
a single glimpse is different.

This is the prettified version of the translation. And one that fully captures the essence of this poem.

Though I go to you
ceaselessly along dream paths,
the sum of those trysts
is less than a single glimpse
granted in the waking world.

I thought that this was a beautiful poem.
Now, if only there was someone I could dedicate this too.
HAH.



credits: Classical Japanese Poetry