Omoiidete tou ni wa araji aki hatsuru iro no kagiri o misuru naruran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

思ひ出でて問ふにはあらじ秋果つる
色の限りを見するなるらん

Roma-ji: Omoiidete tou ni wa araji aki hatsuru iro no kagiri o misuru naruran
English Translation: It is not, I think,
that you remember me and call—
autumn at its end,
you only show me, it seems,
the last of all its colors
Meaning: It is not, I think, that you remembered me and came to call; you are only showing me the last of the colors as autumn ends.
Commentary: Book Seven Autumn Poems III 439

Headnote: "When a man who had forgotten her picked autumn leaves and sent them."
She says that he has not sent the leaves because he remembered her and wished to visit; rather, he is showing her the last of the colors as autumn ends. She takes the feeling behind the leaves as a sign that their love is at an end.
According to the headnote, it was composed when a man who had forgotten her picked autumn leaves and sent them. "Aki hatsuru," autumn ending, echoes "aki hatsuru," growing utterly weary of someone, and "iro no kagiri," the last of the colors, is overlaid with the end of his affection.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," which is treated here as "anonymous."

The first line, "Omoiidete," means "remembering me."
In the second line, "ji" is the auxiliary of negative conjecture: "it is not, I think, that you call." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "aki hatsuru," means "as autumn ends," with "aki" echoing weariness of love.
The fourth line, "iro no kagiri o," means "the last of the colors," overlaying the last color of the leaves with the end of his affection.
The last line, "misuru naruran," means "you are showing me, it seems."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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