Iisomeshi mukashi no yado no kakitsubata iro bakari koso katami narikere - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

言ひそめし昔の宿の杜若
色ばかりこそ形見なりけれ

Roma-ji: Iisomeshi mukashi no yado no kakitsubata iro bakari koso katami narikere
English Translation: At the house of old
where first I spoke my love,
the iris blooms;
only its color now remains
as a keepsake of those days
Meaning: The iris at the house of old, where first I told you of my love—only its color remains now as a keepsake.
Commentary: Book Four Summer Poems 160

Headnote: "In the year after the man who had been visiting Fujiwara no Katsumi, a lady of the court, passed into another's hands, sent to Katsumi attached to an iris."
The poet says that only the color of the iris at the house where he first declared his love remains as a keepsake. In the iris, blooming unchanged after their bond has ended, he sees what is left of a former love.
According to the headnote, in the year after the man who had been visiting the court lady Fujiwara no Katsumi passed into another's hands, he sent this to Katsumi attached to an iris. In the early summer of the year after they parted, he recalls the past through a flower returned with the same season.
The poet, Yoshimine no Yoshikata, was an official of the Yoshimine clan who held the rank title of ason. Details of his career have not come down to us.

The first line, "Iisomeshi," means "where I first spoke my love," with "shi" as the attributive form of the past auxiliary "ki."
The second line, "mukashi no yado no," names the house he once visited.
The third line, "kakitsubata," names a waterside plant with purple flowers in early summer; as the headnote says, the poem was sent attached to it.
The fourth line, "iro bakari koso," means "only its color," with "koso" as an emphatic particle. Though hearts change, the color of the flower alone remains.
The last line, "katami narikere," means "is a keepsake," with the perfective "kere" completing the kakarimusubi pattern with "koso" in the fourth line.
Author: Yoshimine no Yoshikata
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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