春ごとに花のさかりはありなめど
あひ見む事はいのちなりけり
あひ見む事はいのちなりけり
- Roma-ji
-
Haru goto ni hana no sakari wa arinamedo
aimimu koto wa inochi narikeri - English Translation
-
Though every spring
the blossoms reach their height,
as they always will,
to see them in full bloom—
that depends upon my life.
- Meaning
- Though each spring the blossoms surely come into their full bloom, to behold that sight depends upon my being alive.
- Commentary
-
Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)
Though spring returns again and again and flowers bloom in their glory, the joy of seeing them comes only with life itself—thus expressing a keen awareness of one’s own mortality.
Spring comes repeatedly, yet a human life gradually declines. Perhaps the poet felt the approach of age, illness, or death.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Itsu made ka nobe ni kokoro no akugaremu
hana shi chirazu wa chiyo mo henubeshi - Next Poem
-
Hana no goto yo no tsune naraba sugushiteshi
mukashi wa mata mo kaeri kinamashi