やどりせし花橘もかれなくに
などほととぎすこゑたえぬらむ
などほととぎすこゑたえぬらむ
- Roma-ji
-
Yadori seshi hanatachibana mo karenaku ni
nado hototogisu koe taenuramu - English Translation
-
Though the orange blooms,
where once it made its lodging,
have not yet withered,
why then has the cuckoo’s cry
fallen silent all at once?
- Meaning
- Though the orange blossoms where it once lodged have not yet withered, why has the cuckoo’s cry fallen silent?
- Commentary
-
Book III, Summer Poems
Composed at a poetry contest in the imperial court during the Kanpyō era.
If the orange blossoms where the cuckoo lodged had withered, it would be understandable, yet they have not. The poem wonders why, then, the cuckoo’s voice is no longer heard.
- Author
- Oe no Chisato
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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