Since the day it bloomed,
I have thought not even dust
should settle on it—
this pink, like one I sleep with,
dear as my beloved one.

Meaning

Since it first bloomed, I have thought not even dust should touch it—this pink, cherished as though I slept beside my beloved.

Commentary

Book III, Summer Poems

Composed when a neighbor sent a request to be given a pink (tokonatsu) flower, and the poet, reluctant to part with it, replied with this poem.

Asked by a neighbor for the flower, the poet declines, expressing how dearly it has been cared for. The poem conveys just how precious the flower is, suggesting it must have bloomed beautifully to be so desired.

"Tokonatsu no hana" refers to the pink (nadeshiko).

Author

Oshikochi no Mitsune

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

Lotus leaves that grow unstained within muddy waters, keeping a pure heart— why then do they, with the dew, make it seem a shining gem?
In a summer night, still thinking it early eve, dawn has already come— in what part of the clouds now does the moon find its lodging?
Where summer and autumn pass each other in the sky, along that pathway— does from one side, perhaps, blow a wind already cool and clear?
Though with my own eyes I cannot clearly discern that autumn has come, it is in the sound of wind that I am made aware of it.

Since the day it bloomed, I have thought not even dust should settle on it— this pink, like one I sleep with, dear as my beloved one.

Since the day it bloomed,
I have thought not even dust
should settle on it—
this pink, like one I sleep with,
dear as my beloved one.