Shiratsuyu no ue wa tsurenaku okiitsutsu hagi no shitaba no iro o koso mire - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

白露の上はつれなくおきゐつつ
萩の下葉の色をこそ見れ

Roma-ji: Shiratsuyu no ue wa tsurenaku okiitsutsu hagi no shitaba no iro o koso mire
English Translation: Like the white dew that,
cold on the surface, settles
and stays up all night,
I watch the color changing
in the lower leaves of the clover
Meaning: Like the white dew that settles coolly on the surface of the leaves, I stay up night after night seeming indifferent, yet I watch the color deepening in the lower leaves of the bush clover.
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 285

Headnote: "A woman he knew had become the subject of rumor, so he had not visited her for a long time; around the Eighth Month she wrote asking, Why are you so cold? and so he replied."
He says that like the white dew lying coolly on the surface of the bush clover's leaves, he seems indifferent on the outside, yet within, like the lower leaves that take on color, he thinks of her deeply. Setting "above" against "below," it shows outward coldness against hidden feeling.
According to the headnote, a woman he knew well had become the subject of rumor, so he had long stayed away, but around the Eighth Month she wrote asking why he was so cold, and he composed this in reply. The next poem is Ise's reply, which shows that the woman was Ise.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The headnote shows that it is a man's poem.

The first line, "Shiratsuyu no," means "the white dew," leading into "oku."
In the second line, "ue" layers the surface of the leaves and outward appearance: "outwardly indifferent."
In the third line, "oki" is a pivot word joining "oku," for dew to settle, and "oku," to stay awake. It is the same pivot word as "oki akasu" in 283, and 292 uses it in "okii nagara ni."
In the fourth line, "shitaba" layers the lower leaves and the heart within, pairing with "ue" in the second line.
The last line, "iro o koso mire," means "I watch the color come," with the particle "koso" and the perfective "mire" forming a kakarimusubi pattern. The hidden feeling is entrusted to the lower leaves of the bush clover that color in autumn.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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