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.

Meaning

Cherry blossoms do not seem to fall so very quickly; it is rather the human heart that changes even before the wind has fully blown.

Commentary

Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)

This poem was composed in response to someone saying that nothing falls as quickly as cherry blossoms.

Even the fleeting blossoms fall only when stirred by the wind, yet the human heart changes before the wind has even finished blowing—thus emphasizing how changeable the human heart is.

Author

Ki no Tsurayuki

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

More fleeting still than when upon the branch, the blossoms fell; so even as they drift below, they become but foam upon the water.
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.
In the gentle light of a calm spring day— why is it so? Without a tranquil heart, the blossoms fall away.
Spring wind, pass by the blossoms and blow elsewhere; then shall I see whether they fade of their own accord.

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.

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.