桜色にわが身は深くなりぬらん
心にしめて花を惜しめば
心にしめて花を惜しめば
- Roma-ji
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Sakurairo ni waga mi wa fukaku narinuran kokoro ni shimete hana o oshimeba
- English Translation
-
In cherry color
my body must by now be
dyed so very deep,
for, steeping them in my heart,
I grieve over the blossoms.
- Meaning
- By now my body must be dyed deep in cherry color, so deeply have I steeped my heart in grieving for the blossoms.
- Commentary
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Book One Spring Poems 53
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Because the poet holds the flowers deep in the heart and grieves at their falling, the body itself must by now be deeply dyed in cherry color. The depth of attachment to the flowers is expressed through the metaphor of the body being dyed.
First line, "sakurairo ni," means "in the color of cherry blossoms."
Second line, "waga mi wa fukaku," overlays a color dyed deep with a deep feeling.
Third line, "narinuran," with "ran" for present conjecture, and the poem pauses after the third line.
Fourth line, "kokoro ni shimete," is a pivot word combining color "dyeing" and the heart being "possessed."
Final line, "hana o oshimeba," means "since I cherish the flowers," giving the reason by inversion.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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