朝露に咲きすさびたる月草の
日くたつなへに消ぬべく思ほゆ
日くたつなへに消ぬべく思ほゆ
- Roma-ji
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Asatsuyu ni sakisusabitaru tsukikusa no hi kutatsu nae ni kenubeku omōyu
- English Translation
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In the morning dew
blooming, flourishing so free,
the dayflower there—
as the sun declines, like it,
I feel as if I'd fade away.
- Meaning
- Like the dayflower blooming so freely in the morning dew, which fades as the day wanes, I feel as though I might vanish.
- Commentary
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Book Ten Autumn Love Poems 2281
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love Expressed Through Flowers"
This poem says that as the dayflower, blooming freely in the morning dew, withers as the day wanes, so the speaker feels about to fade with love. It overlays the fragility of the dayflower, which blooms in the morning and withers by noon, with the self weakening in love. 2291 also sings of the dayflower's fragility, "blooming in the morning, fading by evening," so the two poems echo each other.
The first line, "in the morning dew," names the setting.
In the second line, "sakisusabitaru," "susabu" means to act freely: blooming profusely.
The third line, "tsukikusa no," an old name for the dayflower, which blooms in the morning and withers by noon, with the upper lines forming a preface leading into "ke," to vanish.
In the fourth line, "hi kutatsu nae ni," "kutatsu" means to decline and "nae ni" means along with.
The last line, "kenubeku omōyu," I feel I will fade, is hypermetric.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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