Utsurowamu koto dani oshiki akihagi o orenu bakari mo okeru tsuyu kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

うつろはむことだに惜しき秋萩を
折れぬばかりも置ける露かな

Roma-ji: Utsurowamu koto dani oshiki akihagi o orenu bakari mo okeru tsuyu kana
English Translation: Even their fading
would be a sorrow to me,
the autumn bush clover,
yet so heavy on them lies
the dew, they could almost break.
Meaning: Even the fading of the autumn bush clover would be a sorrow, yet the dew lies on it so heavily that its branches seem about to break.
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 183

Headnote: "For a folding screen of the Teiji-in"
On autumn bush clover whose very fading would be a sorrow, the dew lies so heavily that the branches seem about to break, and the poet gazes at the dew as both resented and beautiful. The poem portrays the contrast between a heart that cherishes the bush clover and an abundance of dew great enough to harm it. According to the headnote, it accompanied a folding screen belonging to the Teiji-in, that is, Retired Emperor Uda.
Ise was a woman poet of the early to mid-Heian period and a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage. She served Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda, and became the mother of Nakatsukasa. She is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "utsurowamu," means "that will fade," with "mu" as an auxiliary of conjecture.
Second line, "koto dani oshiki," means "even that is a sorrow," with "dani," a particle that names a lesser case to suggest a greater one.
Third line, "akihagi o," is the same autumn bush clover as in the preceding poem's final line.
Fourth line, "orenu bakari mo," means "as if it would break." Whereas in the preceding poem a person meant to pick the bush clover, here the dew lies on it as if to break it, so the one who breaks the bush clover shifts from a person to the dew.
Final line, "okeru tsuyu kana," means "the dew that lies there," with "ru," the attributive of the continuative auxiliary "ri," and the exclamatory particle "kana."
Author: Ise
Source: Shui Wakashu
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