Shizuku mote yowai nobu chō hana nareba chiyo no aki ni zo kage wa shigeran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

雫もて齢延ぶてふ花なれば
千代の秋にぞ影は繁らん

Roma-ji: Shizuku mote yowai nobu chō hana nareba chiyo no aki ni zo kage wa shigeran
English Translation: Since this is the flower
whose drops of dew, they say,
can lengthen life,
for a thousand autumns yet
its shade will flourish thick
Meaning: Since this is the flower whose drops of dew are said to lengthen life, its shade will surely flourish for a thousand autumns.
Commentary: Book Seven Autumn Poems III 433

Headnote: "Reply."
He replies that since the chrysanthemum is said to lengthen life with its dew, its shade will flourish for a thousand autumns to come. Against the lament of the preceding poem, he cites the chrysanthemum's gift of long life to encourage his friend that his future will prosper.
It forms an exchange with the preceding poem, 432. Where that poem lamented "hate wa kage naku," in the end no shade, this one answers "kage wa shigeran," the shade will flourish, turning decline into prosperity. It draws on the Chinese tale of gaining long life by drinking chrysanthemum dew.
The poet, called "Tomonori," is Ki no Tomonori. A son of Ki no Aritomo and a cousin of Ki no Tsurayuki, he was one of the compilers of the Kokin Wakashū but died before it was completed. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets, and his "hisakata no hikari nodokeki haru no hi ni" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

The first line, "Shizuku mote," means "by its drops," meaning the dew of the chrysanthemum.
In the second line, "chō" is a contraction of "to iu": "that is said to lengthen life."
The third line, "hana nareba," means "since it is the flower."
The fourth line, "chiyo no aki ni zo," means "for a thousand autumns," with "zo" a binding particle.
The last line, "kage wa shigeran," means "its shade will flourish," with "zo" in the fourth line and the attributive "n" forming a kakarimusubi pattern. Against "kage naku narinu" in the last line of the preceding poem, it answers "kage wa shigeran."
Author: Ki no Tomonori
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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