Hikari naki tani ni wa haru mo yoso nareba sakite toku chiru monoomoi mo nashi - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

光なき谷には春もよそなれば
咲きてとく散る物思ひもなし

Roma-ji: Hikari naki tani ni wa haru mo yoso nareba sakite toku chiru monoomoi mo nashi
English Translation: In the lightless vale
spring is a stranger, and so
I know no sorrow
of the flowers that bloom
and swiftly scatter away.
Meaning: In a valley the sun never reaches, spring is a stranger, and so I have none of the grief of flowers that bloom and quickly fall.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems II 967

Headnote: "Composed on seeing a man who had been in favor suddenly lose it and grieve, and reflecting that I myself have neither grief nor joy"
Seeing a man who had flourished with the times suddenly lose favor and grieve, the poet reflected on his own life, which neither flourishes nor declines. Comparing himself to a valley the sunlight never reaches, he says that though spring never comes, neither does the grief of sudden rise and fall, like flowers that bloom and quickly scatter.
While lamenting his lack of advancement, the poem finds a certain peace in it, casting light on the fleetingness of glory from the other side.
The author, written "Kiyohara no Fukakotochichi" in the text, is Kiyohara no Fukayabu; the character 事 appears to be an error for 養. He was the great-grandfather of Sei Shōnagon, known also as a master of the koto, and is one of the Later Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

The first line, "in the lightless vale," figures a life that receives no favor from the times.
The second line, "spring," stands for a time of prosperity.
The third line, "is a stranger," renders yoso, "something that has nothing to do with one."
The fourth line, "the flowers that bloom and swiftly scatter," figures sudden rise and sudden fall.
The last line, "I know no sorrow," closes by stating the calm of a life in which there is neither blooming nor scattering.
Author: Kiyohara no Fukayabu
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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