Maidenflower, you—
hard it is to meet but in
the autumn alone;—
though you do not grow, in truth,
upon Heaven’s river shore.
- Meaning
-
Maidenflower, it is hard to meet you except in autumn, though you do not grow upon the banks of the River of Heaven.
- Commentary
-
Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
Composed and presented at the maidenflower contest held at the Suzaku-in.
Since the maidenflower blooms only once in autumn, it evokes the lovers of the Tanabata legend, who meet only once a year. The poet playfully suggests that, although the flower does not grow upon the banks of the River of Heaven, it seems as though it should, given how rarely it may be encountered.
- Author
-
Fujiwara no Sadakata
- Source
-
Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
-
If I should lodge there
in fields where maidenflowers
bloom in great numbers,
without cause, a fleeting name
would surely rise about me.
-
Maidenflowers sway
in autumn fields, bent by the wind—
so too her heart;—
to whom, I wonder, does she
give that single, wayward heart?
-
Since autumn belongs
not to any single one,
maidenflower, why
do you show your color so soon,
fading even before its time?
-
The stag cries aloud,
seeking ever for his mate—
maidenflower, you,
do you not know that you grow
in the field where he abides?