How it galls me—that,
leaving this robe of haze for
someone else to wear,
the blossom should have fallen
even before the spring did

Meaning

How it galls me that the blossom should have fallen before the spring itself, leaving this robe of haze for someone else to wear.

Commentary

Part Two: Kashiwagi

　After the retired minister and Yugiri, Kashiwagi's younger brother, the Controller, added this third poem. Speaking as a brother, he puts into one word of resentment his inability to accept that this man of all men should have gone first. All three poems share the robe of haze, so that one death is mourned from three positions: father, friend, and brother. With this the mourning for Kashiwagi is brought to a close, and the tale goes on to the Fourth Month and Yugiri's second visit to the Ichijo residence.

　"How it galls me" is a cry of resentment. "Robe of haze" is carried over from the two poems before and means mourning dress. "Before the spring did" is falling before the season is out. "The blossom should have fallen" figures a man dead young. Repeating the same words across three poems while moving through mourning, acceptance, and protest makes this a well-built set.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

How it galls me—that, leaving this robe of haze for someone else to wear, the blossom should have fallen even before the spring did

How it galls me—that,
leaving this robe of haze for
someone else to wear,
the blossom should have fallen
even before the spring did