Seen from far outside
and never broken off—that
grief grows thick, and still
what lingers is what I long for:
that blossom in evening light

Meaning

Seen only from outside and never broken off, the grief grows thick; and still what lingers is what I long for—that blossom in the evening light.

Commentary

Part Two: Wakana Jo

　Ever since the day of the kickball, when he glimpsed the Third Princess, Kashiwagi's feeling had been rising. In time he sent a letter in through Kojiju, who served her, and wrote this poem in it. Kojiju was his own nurse's daughter, and that connection is what will bring the two of them together later on. The Princess was in no state to write back, so Kojiju answered for her and turned him away. His ardor is checked here for the moment; in the next chapter it crosses the line at last.

　"Seen from far outside" is looking on with no way to reach. "Never broken off" is a branch he cannot break, and the word for grief also sounds a thrown-down branch, so that it belongs with the thickening and with blossom and breaking as a family of associated words. "That blossom in evening light" is the glimpse he had of her. Words to do with trees and flowers run through the whole, holding a settled ardor for someone out of reach—a well-made love poem, and at the same time one that puts a forbidden beginning straight into verse.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Seen from far outside and never broken off—that grief grows thick, and still what lingers is what I long for: that blossom in evening light

Seen from far outside
and never broken off—that
grief grows thick, and still
what lingers is what I long for:
that blossom in evening light