I came to the fields
of spring to gather young greens,
yet here I am—
amid the scattering blossoms,
I have lost my way.
- Meaning
-
I came to the spring fields to gather young greens, but amid the scattering blossoms I have lost my way.
- Commentary
-
Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)
A poem from a poetry contest at the imperial court during the Kanpyō era.
Though expressed in exaggerated terms, it depicts blossoms falling so thickly that they seem to obscure the path and lead one astray.
- Author
-
Ki no Tsurayuki
- Source
-
Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
-
If only my heart,
that feels such regret,
could become a thread,
then each falling blossom
I would pierce and hold in place.
-
With azusa bow,
as I crossed the springtime hills,
along the mountain path,
so thickly fell the blossoms
there was no way to pass them by.
-
Having found lodging
by the springtime hills,
as I slept that night,
even within my dreams
blossoms were falling.
-
If there were no wind
to blow, nor valley streams
to carry them,
how could we ever see
the blossoms hidden deep in the hills?