Konome haru haru no yamada o uchikaeshi omoiyaminishi hito zo koishiki - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

木の芽はる春の山田をうち返し
思ひ止みにし人ぞ恋しき

Roma-ji: Konome haru haru no yamada o uchikaeshi omoiyaminishi hito zo koishiki
English Translation: As buds swell in spring
the mountain fields are turned,
turned over again,
and the one I gave up loving
I find I long for still
Meaning: As the mountain fields are turned again and again in spring, when the buds are swelling, so over and over I long for the one I had given up.
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 544

Headnote: "For years he kept telling a woman of his love; she gave him hope, telling him to wait at least through this year, but that year ended and she remained very cold until the following spring."
The poet says that, as the mountain fields are turned again and again in spring when the buds swell, so over and over he longs for the one he had given up. Through the tilling of spring fields, he conveys a longing he cannot cut off.
According to the headnote, he had told a woman of his love for years, and she raised his hopes by telling him to wait at least through the year, but the year ended and she stayed very cold into the following spring, so he composed this. 512 in this book also overlays "uchikaeshi" with turning over the soil of a field.
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."

In the first line, "haru" is a pivot word meaning both buds "swelling" and "spring" in the second line.
The second line, "haru no yamada o," means "the mountain fields of spring," and the first two lines form a preface leading to "uchikaeshi" in the third line.
The third line, "uchikaeshi," overlays turning over a field with "over and over." It is the same word that opens 512 in this book.
The fourth line, "omoiyaminishi," means "whom I had given up loving."
The last line, "hito zo koishiki," means "it is that person I long for," the particle "zo" and the attributive "koishiki" forming a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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