More fleeting still
than when upon the branch,
the blossoms fell;
so even as they drift below,
they become but foam upon the water.
- Meaning
- Since these blossoms fell so fleetingly from their branches, even after falling they seem to become nothing more than foam upon the water.
- Commentary
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Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)
A poem composed upon seeing cherry blossoms fall and flow away in the channel at the Crown Prince’s residence.
The fallen petals are likened to fragile bubbles upon the water, emphasizing their fleeting nature.
- Author
- Sugano no Takayo
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
- The one who came to see but once—might he return? cherry blossoms, today I wait and watch; if he comes not, then fall away.
- Shut up within, unaware where spring has gone, all the while— the blossoms I had long awaited have already faded away.
- If it must be so, would it not be better not to bloom at all, cherry blossoms? Even I who gaze cannot keep a tranquil heart.
- Cherry blossoms— it does not seem they fall so very swiftly; it is the human heart that changes before the wind has even blown through.