About this work
Love makes the speaker timid, leaving loneliness, grief, and the wish for comfort unspoken. The poem traces how fear of disappointment turns a desire for honesty into silence.
Parallel reading
日本語と英語で読む
Read the Japanese original and its English translation together. On smaller screens, each language follows in sequence.
日本語原文 Japanese original
言えなかった
ほんとうは素直になりたいと
声に出せなかった言葉
ここにもし君が居たら
もっと心は楽しかっただろうけれど
僕は恋して臆病になった
ほんとうは寂しい
ほんとうは悲しい
ほんとうは甘えたい
弱い自分がいた
でも多くを期待すると
残るのは悲しみ
だから言えなかった
English translation 英訳
AI-assisted English translation. The Japanese original remains authoritative.
I could not say it—
that I truly wanted to be honest.
Words I could not speak aloud.
If you were here,
my heart would surely have been happier,
but love made me timid.
The truth is, I am lonely.
The truth is, I am sad.
The truth is, I want to lean on you.
There was a weaker self inside me.
But when I expect too much,
all that remains is sorrow.
So I could not say it.
Original wording, author credits, notes and source materials are preserved there.