Fuyu nagara haru no tonari no chikakereba nakagaki yori zo hana wa chirikeru - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

冬ながら春の隣の近ければ
中垣よりぞ花は散りける

Roma-ji: Fuyu nagara haru no tonari no chikakereba nakagaki yori zo hana wa chirikeru
English Translation: Though it is winter,
spring lives in the house next door,
so near has it come,
that over the dividing fence
the blossoms come scattering
Meaning: It is still winter, but spring is so close, right next door, that blossoms have come scattering over the fence between our houses.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1021

Headnote: "On the day before spring was to begin, seeing the wind blow snow over from the neighboring house, he composed this and sent it to the neighbor"
On the eve of the first day of spring, seeing snow blown over from next door, the poet composed this and sent it to his neighbor. "Haru no tonari," spring's neighbor, is an expression for spring being close at hand; he takes it literally as the house next door and, likening the snow to blossoms, jokes that spring petals are falling over the fence. Overlapping the boundary between seasons with the boundary between houses gives the poem its haikai wit.
The author, "Kiyohara Fukayabu," is Kiyohara no Fukayabu. The son of Kiyohara no Fusanori, he served as a senior secretary of the Palace Storehouse Bureau. He was the grandfather of Kiyohara no Motosuke and great-grandfather of Sei Shōnagon, and was also known as a master of the koto.

First line, "Fuyu nagara," uses "nagara" for a continuing state: while it is still winter.
Second line, "haru no tonari no," expresses the nearness of spring with the word "neighbor," then takes it as the actual house next door.
Third line, "chikakereba," is causal: because it is near.
Fourth line, "nakagaki yori zo," means from the fence between the houses, with emphatic "zo."
Fifth line, "hana wa chirikeru," likens the blown snow to blossoms. "Keru" is attributive in response to "zo."
Author: Kiyohara no Fukayabu
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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