KKS 31
Text
帰る雁をよめる
Read on returning geese
伊勢
Ise
春霞たつを見捨ててゆく雁は花なき里にすみやならへる
|
harukasumi |
The spring haze rising |
Notes
Other sources:
Analysis
The basic idea of the poem is that the geese are used to living in villages with no flowers because of their migratory patterns. The spring haze indicates to the poet that flowers will bloom soon, but the geese don't care about that (or notice) because they're not used to flowers. Katagiri offers a slightly different reading -- the haze is hiding the flowers, and because the geese aren't used to the scene they don't know the flowers are there.
The poem links to the previous one by also commenting on the departing geese; in this case rather than entrusting them with a message, Ise is sad to see them go.
A thread of comment starting with Keichū and picked up by Takeoka suggest that the "flowerless village" is an image drawn from Chinese sources -- a village that is so far north there are no seasons. Shintaikei quotes a Lǐ Bái poem that evokes this northern village.
Kubota(1937) and Katagiri think the composition fits the feminine style of Ise. McCullough finds the technique typical of Ise's poetry, with its combination of questioning and personification. Mabuchi found the poem delicate and interesting.
