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?
- Meaning
-
If there were neither wind to scatter them nor streams in the valley to carry them, how could we ever behold the blossoms hidden deep within the mountains?
- Commentary
-
Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)
A poem from a poetry contest at the imperial court during the Kanpyō era.
Blossoms blooming deep in the mountains are scattered by the wind and carried by streams down to where people can see them. Without wind and water, their existence would remain unknown. Though the wind that scatters them may seem unwelcome, it is through it that we are able to behold the blossoms.
- Author
-
Ki no Tsurayuki
- Source
-
Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-