How early it cries—
the call of the passing wild goose;
though the white dew yet
tints the trees, not fully turned
into the hues of autumn leaves.

Meaning

How early the wild goose cries, though the trees, still tinted by white dew, have not yet fully turned to autumn colors.

Commentary

Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)

The poem expresses surprise that the wild geese have begun to cry so early, even though the trees have not yet fully taken on their autumn colors. The arrival of the geese suddenly makes one aware of the coming of autumn.

“Aenaku ni” derives from “au,” meaning “to be able to,” and here conveys the sense that the leaves have not yet fully changed.

Author

Unknown Poet

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

On the autumn wind the first wild goose is heard— its cry drifting near; for whom does it bear a letter, carried thus across the sky?
At my very gate the inaose-bird has cried— and with that same breath, on the wind that blows this dawn the wild geese have now arrived.
Through springtime haze the wild geese once passed away— yet now they cry, above the drifting autumn mist, their voices heard once more.
In the chill of night, as if to borrow a robe— the wild geese cry out; and beneath the bush clover, the lower leaves have turned and fade.

How early it cries— the call of the passing wild goose; though the white dew yet tints the trees, not fully turned into the hues of autumn leaves.

How early it cries—
the call of the passing wild goose;
though the white dew yet
tints the trees, not fully turned
into the hues of autumn leaves.