Kerria blossoms,
do not bloom without reason;
we planted you
so that we might view you together,
yet he does not come tonight.

Meaning

Kerria blossoms, do not bloom without cause—we planted you to view together, yet tonight he does not come.

Commentary

Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)

A poem by a woman, composed upon seeing the kerria blossoms she had planted together with a man who would visit her.

Though they had planted them to enjoy together, the man does not come, and only the blossoms bloom. Comparing her present loneliness with the happiness of that earlier time, she directs her feelings toward the blossoms.

Author

Unknown Poet

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

Do they even now bloom in radiant beauty, as once they did— the kerria blossoms at Tachibana’s isle-bound cape?
In spring rain, its radiant hue delights beyond all weariness; and more than that, how dear is the scent of kerria blossoms.
On Yoshino River’s bank, kerria blossoms— in the blowing wind, even their reflection below has faded away.
Where frogs are crying in Ide, the kerria blooms have already fallen; had I but known before, I would have seen them at their height.

Kerria blossoms, do not bloom without reason; we planted you so that we might view you together, yet he does not come tonight.

Kerria blossoms,
do not bloom without reason;
we planted you
so that we might view you together,
yet he does not come tonight.