Konu hito o matsu no e ni furu shirayuki no kie koso kaere kuyuru omoi ni - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

来ぬ人をまつの枝に降る白雪の
消えこそかへれくゆるおもひに

Roma-ji: Konu hito o matsu no e ni furu shirayuki no kie koso kaere kuyuru omoi ni
English Translation: Waiting for one
who never comes, like white snow
on the branches of the pine,
I melt utterly away
in the smoldering fire of regret
Meaning: Waiting for one who does not come, I melt away entirely like the white snow on the branches of the pine, consumed by the smoldering fire of regret.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 851

Headnote: "Sent to a man who was beginning to forget her."
The poet says that waiting for one who does not come, she melts away like white snow fallen on the branches of the pine, in the smoldering fire of regret. Likening herself, still waiting for a man who is forgetting her, to snow that settles on a pine and melts, she voices the agony of being consumed by remorse.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a man who was beginning to forget her. 865 in this book also uses the word "kuyuru," entrusting love's longing to smoldering smoke.
The poet, Shōkyōden no Chūnagon, was a lady-in-waiting called Chūnagon who served a consort living in the Shōkyōden. There is no settled view as to who she was.

The first line, "Konu hito o," means "for one who does not come."
The second line, "matsu no e ni furu," means "falling on the branches of the pine," with "matsu" meaning both "pine" and "to wait."
The third line, "shirayuki no," means "like white snow," leading into "kie" in the fourth line, since snow melts away.
The fourth line, "kie koso kaere," means "I melt away entirely," with "koso" an emphatic binding particle closed by the perfective "kaere."
The last line, "kuyuru omoi ni," means "in the smoldering longing of regret," with "kuyuru" meaning both "smoldering" and "regretting," and the "hi" of "omoi" also meaning "fire." It is inverted with the fourth line.
Author: Shōkyōden no Chūnagon
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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