Nadeshiko wa izure tomo naku nioedomo okurete saku wa aware narikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

なでしこはいづれともなくにほへども
後れて咲くはあはれなりけり

Roma-ji: Nadeshiko wa izure tomo naku nioedomo okurete saku wa aware narikeri
English Translation: The pinks, each one,
whichever it may be, shine
lovely in their bloom,
yet the one that blooms the last
is the dearest one of all
Meaning: The pinks, each and every one, glow with beauty, yet the one that blooms last of all is the dearest to my heart.
Commentary: Book Four Summer Poems 203

Headnote: "When Lord Morotada was still a child, he had picked a tokonatsu flower and was holding it, so this was sent to the Principal Handmaid attached to that flower."
Every pink glows with beauty, the poet says, yet the one that blooms late is especially dear. Laying "nadeshi ko," a cherished child, over the pink, he expresses a parent's feeling that all his children are dear, but the youngest, born late, is dearest of all.
According to the headnote, when his son Morotada was still a small child, he had picked a tokonatsu flower, so the poet attached the poem to that flower and sent it to the Principal Handmaid. He likens the young Morotada to the late-blooming pink.
The poet, called "the Chancellor," is Fujiwara no Tadahira. The fourth son of Fujiwara no Mototsune, he served as Minister of the Left and Chancellor and became regent and chief adviser. His posthumous name is Teishinkō. He was Morotada's father and a patron of Ki no Tsurayuki and other poets.

In the first line, "nadeshiko" is a pivot word joining the flower, the pink, and "nadeshi ko," a cherished child, likening his children to it. Following "yamato nadeshiko" in the preceding poem, 202, it again sings of the pink.
The second line, "izure tomo naku," means "whichever it may be," showing that all his children are dear.
In the third line, "niou" means for flowers to glow with beauty, and "domo" is adversative.
The fourth line, "okurete saku wa," means "the one that blooms late," pointing to Morotada, born late.
The last line, "aware narikeri," means "is deeply dear," with "keri" expressing a sigh of realization.
Author: Fujiwara no Tadahira
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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