Tokonatsu no hana o dani miba koto nashi ni sugusu tsukihi mo mijikakarinan - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

常夏の花をだに見ばことなしに
過ぐす月日も短かりなん

Roma-ji: Tokonatsu no hana o dani miba koto nashi ni sugusu tsukihi mo mijikakarinan
English Translation: If only I could see
the everlasting pink in flower,
then with nothing done,
even these months and days I pass
would seem short to me, I'm sure
Meaning: If I could see even just the flowers of the everlasting pink, then the months and days I pass with nothing happening would surely seem short.
Commentary: Book Four Summer Poems 200

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
If he could at least see the flowers of the tokonatsu, the months and days passing uneventfully would seem short. Likening the beloved to the pink, he wishes, though they cannot meet, at least to see her.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the author as "yomibito mo," but it is treated here as anonymous.

The first line, "Tokonatsu no," names tokonatsu, another name for the pink, likening it to the beloved. It takes up the pinks of the preceding poem, 199.
In the second line, "dani" is a particle marking a minimal limit: "if only I could see the flowers." "Ba" marks a supposition.
The third line, "koto nashi ni," means "with nothing happening," expressing days in which love makes no progress.
The fourth line, "sugusu tsukihi mo," means "even the months and days I pass." "Sugusu" also appears in 197 and 212 of this book.
In the last line, "na" is emphatic and "n" conjecture: "would surely seem short."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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