A poem I stumbled upon today:

Japanese	Romanization	Translation
思ひいわび	Omoi wabi	Miserable,
さても命は	Satemo inochi wa	nonetheless, somehow
あるものを	Aru mono wo	I cling to life, but
うきにたへえぬは	Uki ni taenu wa	it is my tears
なみだなりけり	Namida nari keri	that cannot endure the pain!

The author of the poem, Dōin Hōshi (道因法師, 1090 – 1179?), or “Dharma Master Dōin”. He lived as Fujiwara no Atsuyori, and served under Emperor Sutoku (poem 77), but wasn’t particularly successful. Later in life, he took tonsure in 1172 and became a Buddhist priest. It’s not clear if this poem was written before or after he took up the religious life.

According to Mostow, it’s not clear if the poem is a real expression of pain or part of poetry contest. Unfortunately, none of the poetry collections of Dōin survive, though he frequented poetry contests since 1160. He became a member of a famous poetry group called the Karin-en (歌林苑), though, and spent much time around other influential poets of the day.

P.S. Featured photo is Il Triste Messaggio (“The Sad Message”), by Peter Fendi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons