Shiratama to mieshi namida mo toshi fureba karakurenai ni utsuroinikeri - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

白玉と見えし涙も年ふれば
唐紅にうつろひにけり

Roma-ji: Shiratama to mieshi namida mo toshi fureba karakurenai ni utsuroinikeri
English Translation: Even the tears that
once appeared like white pearls,
as the years go by,
have changed into the deep
crimson of Chinese red.
Meaning: Even the tears that once looked like white pearls have, with the passing years, turned a deep crimson red.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 599

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet says that the tears that looked like white pearls at the beginning of his love have turned, as the unrequited love went on year after year, into deep crimson tears of blood. The change in the color of his tears expresses how the sorrow of love has deepened with the years. Following the crimson-dyed sleeves of the previous poem, it sings of tears turning crimson and closes the three poems by Tsurayuki in this book.
Ki no Tsurayuki was a poet of the early Heian period, the son of Ki no Mochiyuki. He was the leading compiler of the Kokinshū and wrote its Japanese preface. He served as Governor of Tosa and is also known as the author of the Tosa Diary. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

First line, "shiratama to": shiratama are pearls, used as an image for drops of tears. It is the same image Kiyoyuki used for tears in 556 of this book.
Second line, "mieshi namida mo": shi is the attributive of the past auxiliary ki, "even the tears that once looked like pearls."
Third line, "toshi fureba": furu means for time to pass, and ba marks a cause. Whereas the previous poem, 598, sang of sleeves deepening in color with each weeping, this poem sings of change over the years, depicting the color of tears on different scales, a moment and the years.
Fourth line, "karakurenai ni": karakurenai, "Chinese crimson," is a deep, vivid red, representing tears of blood shed at the height of sorrow.
Fifth line, "utsuroinikeri": utsurou means for a color to change, and nikeri combines completion and realization, closing with the recognition that they have changed completely.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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