Waga yado no kiku no kakine ni oku shimo no kiekaerite zo koishikarikeru - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

わが宿の菊の垣根に置く霜の
消えかへりてぞ恋しかりける

Roma-ji: Waga yado no kiku no kakine ni oku shimo no kiekaerite zo koishikarikeru
English Translation: Like the frost that settles
on the chrysanthemum hedge
beside my dwelling,
I am vanishing away,
so deep is my love for you.
Meaning: Like the frost that settles on the chrysanthemum hedge at my house and melts away, I feel as if I am vanishing, so much do I long for you.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 564

Headnote: "A poem from the poetry contest held at the residence of the Empress in the Kanpyō era"
The poet says that, just as frost settled on the chrysanthemum hedge of his house vanishes, he too is fading away with longing. The scene of the upper verse serves as a preface leading to the feeling in the lower verse, and the pairing of white frost and chrysanthemums in late autumn quietly reflects a heart sunk in love. It was composed for the Kanpyō-era Empress's poetry contest and is placed within the run of poems from that contest. It follows the previous poem in singing of frost.
Ki no Tomonori was a poet of the early Heian period, the son of Ki no Aritomo and a cousin of Ki no Tsurayuki. He served as Senior Private Secretary and was appointed one of the compilers of the Kokinshū, but died before its completion. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

First line, "waga yado no": yado means one's dwelling or house.
Second line, "kiku no kakine ni": a hedge planted with chrysanthemums, a late-autumn scene where frost settles.
Third line, "oku shimo no": the first three lines form a preface, leading from the vanishing of frost to "kiekaeri" in the fourth line. It takes up the same image of "settling frost" as the previous poem, 563; whereas that poem sang of the frost's cold, this one sings of how easily it vanishes.
Fourth line, "kiekaerite zo": kiekaeru means both to vanish completely and to be tormented almost to death. The binding particle zo pairs with keru in the last line.
Fifth line, "koishikarikeru": keru is the attributive resolving zo, expressing the poet's renewed awareness of a longing so great he could vanish.
Author: Ki no Tomonori
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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