Yukusaki ni nari mo ya suru to tanomishi o haru no kagiri wa kyō ni zo arikeru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

行く先になりもやすると頼みしを
春の限りは今日にぞありける

Roma-ji: Yukusaki ni nari mo ya suru to tanomishi o haru no kagiri wa kyō ni zo arikeru
English Translation: I had counted on it,
that it might yet lie ahead,
but now I find
the very last of all the spring
is this day, today
Meaning: I had hoped spring might still lie ahead, but now I see that today is its very last day.
Commentary: Book Three Spring Poems III 143

Headnote: "The last day of the Third Month."
Having counted on spring still lying ahead, the poet realizes that today is its last day. The poem conveys both his lingering attachment to the passing spring and his surprise at being faced with its end.
According to the headnote, it was composed on the last day of the Third Month. From 141 to the closing poem of the book, 146, follows a sequence of poems regretting the last day of spring.
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 among other posts, is known as the author of the Tosa Diary, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

The first line, "Yukusaki ni," means "to what lies ahead." It takes up "yukusaki o" in the preceding poem, 142.
In the second line, "ya" is interrogative: "wondering whether it might become so."
In the third line, "tanomu" means to count on, and "o" is adversative.
The fourth line, "haru no kagiri wa," means "the end of spring." It uses the same word as "haru no kagiri no" in 141 of this book.
In the last line, "zo" forms a kakarimusubi pattern with the attributive "keru," expressing the realization that it is today.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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