Pale green threads are spun
and hung upon the boughs;
threading white dew
into shining beads—
are these the willows of spring?
- Meaning
- Spinning pale green threads and hanging them upon the branches, the willows of spring thread the white dew into shining beads.
- Commentary
-
Spring Songs, Book One
This poem sings of the willows around .
The young green willow branches stretch long, and the white dew strung along the branches gleams like beads, a beautiful scene.
- Author
- Sojo Henjo
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
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- Each time the spring rain falls on my beloved’s robe, the green of the fields alone deepens its color.
- In the spring when green willows spin threads and weave them, so abundant with thread— yet the blossoms burst open in wild disarray.
- When many birds sing in the spring that chatters on, all things are made new— yet I alone grow old as each new spring comes round.
- In the deep mountains, not knowing which way to go, with an anxious voice a calling bird calls out— how uncertain it sounds.