classic waka stream

時ならぬ斑の衣着欲しきか
島の榛原時にあらねども
Roma-ji

Tokinaranu madara no koromo kihoshiki ka shima no harihara toki ni aranedomo

English Translation
Out of its season,
a robe in dappled patterns—
how I long to wear it!
though the alder groves of Shima
have not yet come to their time
Meaning
How I long to wear a dappled robe out of season—though the alder groves of Shima have not yet come to their time for dyeing.
Commentary
Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1260

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Occasional Poems"
Though the alder groves of Shima are not yet in season, the speaker longs to wear a dappled robe out of its time. It is understood as an allegory of wishing to make a still very young girl one's wife without waiting.
It is one of the occasional poems. The "dappled robe" also appears in poem 1255 in this book, where dyeing cloth is likewise laid over love. Shima is thought to be the district of that name in Asuka. It comes from the Old Poetry Collection. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Out of its season," answers "have not yet come to their time" in the final line.
The second line, "a robe in dappled patterns," is the same phrase as the fourth line of poem 1255 in this book.
In the third line, "ka" is exclamatory, "how I long to wear it," and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line names the alder groves of Shima; alder was used as a dye.
The final line has an extra syllable; repeating "time" from the first line, it adds the circumstance by inversion.
Source
Manyoshu
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