二葉よりわがしめ結ひしなでしこの
花の盛りを人に折らすな
花の盛りを人に折らすな
- Roma-ji
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Futaba yori waga shime yuishi nadeshiko no hana no sakari o hito ni orasu na
- English Translation
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From its first two leaves
I have roped it off as mine,
this little pink flower—
when it comes to full bloom, never
let another pluck it, please
- Meaning
- Ever since its first two leaves I have marked this pink as mine—when it comes into full bloom, do not let anyone else pluck it.
- Commentary
-
Book Four Summer Poems 183
Headnote: "Sent to someone who had a daughter, because he had feelings for her."
The poet asks that the pink he marked as his own since its first two leaves not be plucked by another when it reaches full bloom. Likening the parent's daughter to the pink, he asks that the girl he has cared for since childhood not be given to another man when she comes of age.
According to the headnote, it was sent to someone who had a daughter, because the poet had feelings for her.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.
The first line, "Futaba yori," means "since its first two leaves," pointing to the daughter's early childhood.
The second line, "waga shime yuishi," means "that I roped off," marking it as his own. It echoes "waga shimeshi no no" in 198 of this book.
In the third line, "nadeshiko" is a pivot word joining the flower, the pink, and "nadeshi ko," a child one has stroked and cherished, likening the parent's daughter to it.
The fourth line, "hana no sakari o," means "its full bloom," showing that the daughter has come of age.
In the last line, "na" expresses prohibition: "do not let another pluck it." Over the plucking of the flower he lays the giving of the daughter to another man.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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