ちると見てあるべきものを梅の花
うたてにほひのそでにとまれる
うたてにほひのそでにとまれる
- Roma-ji
-
Chiru to mite arubeki mono o ume no hana
utate nioi no sode ni tomareru - English Translation
-
Seeing them fall,
that should have been all—yet
these plum blossoms,
so vexing, leave their fragrance
lingering on my sleeves.
- Meaning
- Seeing the blossoms fall should have been the end of it, and yet, vexingly, the plum blossoms leave their fragrance lingering on my sleeves.
- Commentary
-
Spring Songs, Book One
A poem paired in the poetry contest held in the inner court in the reign of Emperor Kanpyō.
Though one would think it enough simply to watch the blossoms fall, this poem strikingly calls the fragrance that lingers on the sleeves “vexing,” as something extra that need not remain. It can also call to mind the lingering scent of one from whom one has parted.
- Author
- Sosei Hoshi
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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