Haru goto ni sakimasaru beki hana nareba kotoshi o mo mada akazu to zo miru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春ごとに咲きまさるべき花なれば
今年をもまだ飽かずとぞ見る

Roma-ji: Haru goto ni sakimasaru beki hana nareba kotoshi o mo mada akazu to zo miru
English Translation: Every passing spring
they are bound to bloom still finer,
being such flowers, so
this year's blossoms even now
I see as not yet enough
Meaning: These are flowers bound to bloom more splendidly with every spring, so even this year's blossoms I see as not yet their fullest.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 46

Headnote: "A red plum had been planted before Lord Kanesuke's bedchamber, and after about three years it bloomed; the ladies broke off a branch and held it out from behind the blinds, asking, 'How about this?'" and also "It was the year he first became a Consultant."
Shown the red plum at Fujiwara no Kanesuke's house, which bloomed about three years after it was planted, the poet says that since these flowers are bound to bloom ever more finely each spring, even this year's blossoms do not yet satisfy him. In wishing the flowers a flourishing future, he congratulates Kanesuke on his further advancement.
According to the headnote, a red plum planted before Kanesuke's bedchamber bloomed after some three years, and the ladies-in-waiting broke off a branch and held it out from behind the blinds asking his opinion, so he composed this. It was the year Kanesuke first became a Consultant, that is, a member of the Council of State.
The poet, called "Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki. A son of Ki no Mochiyuki, he was the leading compiler of the Kokin Wakashū and wrote its kana preface. He served as governor of Tosa, is known as the author of the Tosa Diary, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

The first line, "Every passing spring," means "with each spring," foretelling prosperity year after year. As the closing poem of the book, it ends with a poem of celebration, just as the opening poem, 1, began with one.
In the second line, "beki" expresses expectation: "bound to bloom still finer." The joy of Kanesuke's promotion is overlaid on the flowers' increasing splendor.
The third line, "being such flowers," refers to the red plum. Kanesuke's red plum also appears in 17 of this book, so that the arrangement answers Kanesuke's poem of impatient waiting for late blossoms with Tsurayuki's poem of congratulation at the book's end.
The fourth line, "this year's blossoms even now," implies that the flowers have yet to reach their peak.
In the last line, "zo" forms a kakarimusubi pattern with the attributive "miru." By seeing even this year's flowers as not yet enough, still on their way to greater bloom, the poet celebrates Kanesuke's future.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Furu yuki wa katsu mo kenanamu ume no hana chiru ni madowazu orite kazasamu
Next Poem: Ueshi toki hana mimu to shi mo omowanu ni saki chiru mireba yowai oi ni keri