Haru fukaku narinu to omou o sakurabana chiru ko no moto wa mada yuki zo furu - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春深くなりぬと思ふを桜花
散る木のもとはまだ雪ぞ降る

Roma-ji: Haru fukaku narinu to omou o sakurabana chiru ko no moto wa mada yuki zo furu
English Translation: Though I think that spring
has by now grown deep indeed,
the cherry blossoms
scatter beneath the trees where
snow is falling even still.
Meaning: Though I thought spring had grown deep, beneath the trees where the cherry blossoms fall, snow is falling still.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 63

Headnote: "For a folding screen for the coming-of-age ceremony of the Northern Princess"
Though spring seems to have grown deep, beneath the cherry trees where the blossoms fall, it is as if snow were still falling. Through the conceit of falling petals as snow, the poem overlays a winter scene on the late-spring trees. According to the headnote, it accompanied a screen made for the coming-of-age ceremony of a princess known as the Northern Princess.
The author, written as Tsurayuki, is Ki no Tsurayuki. He was the leading compiler of the Kokinshū and wrote its kana preface. Known also as the author of the Tosa Diary, he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "haru fukaku," indicates that spring has deepened.
Second line, "narinu to omou o," with "o" expressing contrast, means "though I think it has become so."
Third line, "sakurabana," presents the cherry blossoms as what falls.
Fourth line, "chiru ko no moto wa," indicates the ground beneath the trees where the cherries fall.
Final line, "mada yuki zo furu," closes in the attributive "furu" in response to "zo." Seeing falling petals as snow, it echoes the snow-and-blossom poems near the opening of the book, such as 8 and 12.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Asajihara nushi naki yado no sakurabana kokoroyasuku ya kaze ni chiruran
Next Poem: Sakura chiru ko no shitakaze wa samukarade sora ni shirarenu yuki zo furikeru