classic waka stream

吹く風の誘ふものとは知りながら
散りぬる花のしひて恋しき
Roma-ji

Fuku kaze no sasou mono to wa shirinagara chirinuru hana no shiite koishiki

English Translation
That the blowing wind
lures them away, this I know,
and yet all the same,
the blossoms that have fallen
I long for beyond reason
Meaning
I know it is the blowing wind that lures them away, and yet I cannot help but long for the blossoms that have fallen.
Commentary
Book Three Spring Poems III 91

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
Though the poet knows that flowers fall when lured by the blowing wind, the fallen blossoms are dear beyond reason. The poem shows a heart that cannot stop grieving for the flowers even when reason accepts their loss.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Fuku kaze no," names the wind that scatters blossoms. 53 of Book Two also begins with "fuku kaze o," pairing flowers and wind.
The second line, "sasou mono to wa," means "that it is the wind that lures them away," treating the wind as a person. Whereas 88 of this book laments flowers that fall without waiting for the wind, this poem sings of flowers lured by it, forming a pair.
The third line, "shirinagara," means "though I know," linking adversatively to the lower verses.
In the fourth line, "nuru" is perfective, naming flowers that have already fallen.
In the last line, "shiite" means "beyond reason, insistently." Ending on the attributive form leaves a lingering echo.
Author
Unknown Poet
Source
Gosen Wakashu
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