classic waka stream

我が待ちし秋は来たりぬしかれども
萩の花ぞもいまだ咲かずける
Roma-ji

Waga machishi aki wa kitarinu shikaredomo hagi no hana zo mo imada sakazukeru

English Translation
That which I awaited,
autumn now at last has come;
and yet, even so,
the blossoms of bush clover
have not yet come into bloom.
Meaning
The autumn I waited for has come—and yet the bush clover blossoms have still not bloomed.
Commentary
Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2123

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Flowers"
This poem regrets that though the long-awaited autumn has come, the bush clover has not yet bloomed. It begins "waga machishi aki wa kitarinu" like 2036, but whereas that Tanabata poem led on to the joy of meeting, this one turns to frustration at the clover not blooming, so different feelings are drawn from the same upper lines.

The first line, "that I waited for," names the awaited season.
In the second line, "aki wa kitarinu," "nu" marks completion, and the poem breaks here; it is the same as the second line of 2036.
The third line, "shikaredomo," means and yet, marking contrast.
In the fourth line, "hagi no hana zo mo," "zo" is an emphatic particle and "mo" exclamatory.
The last line, "imada sakazukeru," is the attributive of "sakazukeri," answering "zo," closing with a lament at the unblooming clover.
Source
Manyoshu
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