とどむべき物とはなしにはかなくも
ちる花ごとにたぐふこころか
ちる花ごとにたぐふこころか
- Roma-ji
-
Todomubeki mono to wa nashi ni hakanaku mo
chiru hana goto ni tagou kokoro ka - English Translation
-
Though there is nothing
that can be held and kept,
how fleeting it is—
that with each falling blossom
my heart is drawn along.
- Meaning
- Though there is nothing that can truly be held and kept, still my heart is drawn after each fleeting blossom as it falls.
- Commentary
-
Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)
A poem composed upon seeing women returning from gathering blossoms on the last day of the third month.
Though the flowers they have picked will soon scatter and cannot be kept, they are nonetheless drawn to them. The poem reflects on this futile yet irresistible pull of the heart.
- Author
- Oshikochi no Mitsune
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Koe taezu nake ya uguisu hitotose ni
futatabi to dani kubeki haru ka wa - Next Poem
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Nuretsutsu zo shiite oritsuru toshi no uchi ni
haru wa ikuka mo araji to omoeba