Before autumn bush clover,
as I sit in quiet sorrow—
from the mountain’s foot,
resounding through the valleys,
the stag’s cry seems to echo.
- Meaning
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As I sit in quiet sorrow before the autumn bush clover, the cry of a stag seems to echo from the foot of the mountain.
- Commentary
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Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
Since ancient times, bush clover has often been likened to a woman, and the season when it blooms coincides with the time when stags cry out in search of mates. The poet, feeling lonely in autumn, hears the stag’s cry as if it were giving voice to that solitude.
“Urabire” means to feel forlorn or dejected.
“Ashibiki” is a pillow word for “mountain.”
“Yamashita toyomi” conveys the sense of the mountain’s foot resounding with sound.
- Author
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Unknown Poet
- Source
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Kokin Wakashu
- Other
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In mountain villages,
autumn is the loneliest—
again and again,
awakened by the stag’s cry,
I rise from uneasy sleep.
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In the deep mountains,
treading through the fallen leaves,
the stag cries aloud—
when I hear that lonely voice,
then autumn is most sorrowful.
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Through autumn bush clover,
pushing down the tangled stems,
the stag gives its cry—
though unseen to the watching eye,
its voice rings clear and sharp.
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When autumn bush clover
has come now into bloom,
on Takasago’s peak
the stag upon the mountain
must now be crying as well.