Shirayuki no kesa wa tsumoreru omoi kana awade furu yo no hodo mo henaku ni - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

白雪の今朝は積もれる思ひかな
逢はでふる夜の程も経なくに

Roma-ji: Shirayuki no kesa wa tsumoreru omoi kana awade furu yo no hodo mo henaku ni
English Translation: Like the white snow
my longing has piled up deep
this morning—
though the nights we've passed apart,
while it fell, have been but few
Meaning: Like the white snow, my longing has piled up deep this morning, though the nights we have spent apart while it fell have been but few.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems VI 1070

Headnote: "Added to a message sent with a carriage to fetch a woman on a morning when snow had fallen deep, after she had gone off to her parents' house because of some grievance."
The poet says that this morning his longing has piled up like the white snow, though few nights have passed since they parted. Overlaying the snow heaped deep in a single night with the yearning that grew in their short separation, he expresses his wish to bring her home.
According to the headnote, the woman had gone to her parents' house over some grievance, and on a morning of deep snow he sent a carriage to fetch her, adding this poem to his message; her reply is placed in the next poem, 1071.
The poet, listed as "Kanesuke no Ason," is Fujiwara no Kanesuke. He rose to Middle Counselor and was called the Tsutsumi Middle Counselor because his mansion stood by the embankment of the Kamo River. He was the great-grandfather of Murasaki Shikibu, and his "mika no hara wakite nagaruru izumigawa" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

The first line, "Shirayuki no," means "like the white snow," leading to "tsumoreru," piling up, in the second line. The next poem opens with the same words.
The second line, "kesa wa tsumoreru," means "has piled up this morning," taking up the morning of deep snow.
The third line, "omoi kana," means "how my longing," with "kana" a final particle of exclamation. The poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "awade furu yo no," means "of the nights spent apart," with "furu" joining the passing of nights and the falling of snow.
The last line, "hodo mo henaku ni," means "though little time has passed," with "nakuni" adding feeling to a negative and marking contrast.
Author: Fujiwara no Kanesuke
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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