うゑしうゑば秋なき時や咲かざらむ
花こそ散らめ根さへ枯れめや
花こそ散らめ根さへ枯れめや
- Roma-ji
-
Ueshi ueba aki naki toki ya sakazaramu
hana koso chirame ne sae kareme ya - English Translation
-
if well and firmly
planted, will it not bloom again
when autumn returns?
though flowers may fall and scatter,
how could the root itself wither?
- Meaning
- If it is firmly planted, will it not bloom when autumn comes? Though the flowers may fall, the roots themselves will not wither.
- Commentary
-
Book Five Autumn Poems (Part Two)
A poem composed in connection with chrysanthemums planted in someone's garden.
“Will it not bloom when autumn comes?” implies that since there is no year without autumn, it will bloom every year. “How could the roots wither?” is a rhetorical expression meaning that even if the flowers fall, as long as the roots remain, they will bloom again. The repetition in “planted, planted” emphasizes firmness and care.
If “that person” is someone of special importance to the poet, the poem may also convey, implicitly, that the poet’s feelings toward them will not fade.
This poem is also included in *The Tales of Ise* and *The Tales of Yamato*.
- Author
- Ariwara no Narihira
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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