The one I awaited
does not come—so,
for that reason,
the blossom where the warbler perched
I have broken off.

Meaning

Since the one I was waiting for has not come, I have broken off the blossom on which the warbler had perched.

Commentary

Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)

A woman, likely in a romantic relationship, had been waiting for her lover to visit, but he did not come. The branch where the warbler perched is something to be admired, yet in her frustration she breaks it off.

According to some annotations, it is said to be a poem by the Empress Somedono, who was waiting for Ariwara no Narihira.

Author

Unknown Poet

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

If, like the blossoms, the world were ever constant, as they return each year, then even what has passed away might come again once more.
If one could command the wind that blows as it will, then I would say: pass by this single tree, and leave it untouched.
Though blossoms that bloom are of many kinds, all are but fleeting, who is there that can utterly resent the coming of spring?
Spring haze appears in many varied hues— it must be so, because the blossoms’ colors show through the veiled mountains.

The one I awaited does not come—so, for that reason, the blossom where the warbler perched I have broken off.

The one I awaited
does not come—so,
for that reason,
the blossom where the warbler perched
I have broken off.