Madaki kara omoi koki iro ni somemu to ya wakamurasaki no ne o tazunuran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

まだきから思ひ濃き色に染めむとや
若紫のねを尋ぬらん

Roma-ji: Madaki kara omoi koki iro ni somemu to ya wakamurasaki no ne o tazunuran
English Translation: Already, so soon,
would you dye her in the deep
color of your love,
that you go seeking out
the root of the young gromwell
Meaning: Is it that you would dye her so soon in the deep color of your love, that you go seeking the root of the young purple gromwell?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems IV 1277

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet asks whether someone seeks out the root of the young gromwell to dye it so soon in love's deep color. Likening the dyeing of cloth deep with gromwell root to a man who too early sets his heart on a young woman, the poem seems to reproach his haste.
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known.

The first line, "Madaki kara," means "already, before the time."
The second line, "omoi koki iro ni," means "in the deep color of love," with an extra syllable. The "hi" of "omoi" echoes "hi," scarlet, linking with "deep color."
The third line, "somemu to ya," means "would you dye it," with "ya" interrogative. The poem pauses here, inverted with the lower verse.
The fourth line, "wakamurasaki no," means "of the young gromwell," a figure for a young woman.
The last line, "ne o tazunuran," is a pivot word on "ne," both the gromwell root used for dye and lying together: do you seek the root? "Gromwell," "root," and "dye" are associated words.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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