Fukamidori tokiwa no matsu no kage ni ite utsurou hana o yoso ni koso mire - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

深緑常盤の松の影にゐて
うつろふ花をよそにこそ見れ

Roma-ji: Fukamidori tokiwa no matsu no kage ni ite utsurou hana o yoso ni koso mire
English Translation: Deep green, evergreen,
beneath the pines that never change
I sit in the shade,
and the flowers as they fade
I watch as though from afar
Meaning: Sitting in the shade of the deep green, never-changing pines, I watch the fading blossoms as something far removed from me.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 42

Headnote: "Several people gathered beneath a pine and gazed at the blossoms."
Seated in the shade of the ever-green pine, the poet gazes at the blossoms fading and falling in the distance. Contrasting the changeless pine with the changing flowers, he takes the pine's side and views the blossoms' decline as no concern of his own.
According to the headnote, several people gathered under a pine tree and gazed out at the blossoms. The next poem, 43, was composed on the same occasion.
The poet, Sakanoue no Korenori, is said to be a descendant of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, and rose through posts such as provisional junior secretary of Yamato to vice-governor of Kaga. He was the father of Sakanoue no Mochiki, one of the compilers of the Gosen Wakashū, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

The first line, "Deep green, evergreen," presents the dark green of the pine, set against the fading color of the flowers.
In the second line, "tokiwa" means unchanging for ever.
In the third line, "kage" means shade, showing the poet sitting in the shade of the pine.
The fourth line, "the flowers as they fade," names blossoms losing color and scattering.
In the last line, "koso" forms a kakarimusubi pattern with the perfective "mire," showing that he views the blossoms' decline as unrelated to himself. The next poem, 43, also contrasts the color of blossoms with the green of the pine, and the two form a pair.
Author: Sakanoue no Koreyuki
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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