植ゑて見る草葉ぞ世をば知らせける
おきては消ゆる今朝の朝露
おきては消ゆる今朝の朝露
- Roma-ji
-
Uete miru kusaba zo yo o ba shirasekeru okite wa kiyuru kesa no asatsuyu
- English Translation
-
The grass that I planted
and gaze upon has shown me
what this world is like:
rising, I see it settle and fade,
this morning's morning dew.
- Meaning
- The grasses I planted and gaze upon have taught me the nature of this world—the morning dew of today, which settles and vanishes as I rise.
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Miscellaneous Poems I 500
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet says that the grasses she planted and gazes upon have taught her the nature of this world through the morning dew that settles and vanishes. In the dew on the leaves fading away in the morning, she perceives the impermanence of this world. Taking up "dew" and "settling" from the preceding poem, 499, it leads to "a life like dew" in the next poem, 501, so poems on transience through dew continue.
The author, Nakatsukasa, was a daughter born to Prince Atsuyoshi, son of Emperor Uda, and Ise, and a woman poet of the mid Heian period. She is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
First line, "uete miru," means "that I planted and gaze on."
Second line, "kusaba zo yo o ba," means "the grass leaves, the world," with "zo" an emphatic particle.
Third line, "shirasekeru," means "have taught," resolving "zo" with the attributive "keru." The poem breaks here.
Fourth line, "okite wa kiyuru," means "settling and vanishing." "Oki" is a pivot word joining dew that settles and rising in the morning.
Final line, "kesa no asatsuyu," means "this morning's dew," ending on a noun. The upper verse says the grass taught her about the world, and the lower verse, as if inverted, shows what it taught.
- Author
- Nakatsukasa
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Yukusue no shinobugusa ni mo ari ya tote tsuyu no katami mo okan to zo omou
- Next Poem
-
Tsuyu no inochi oshi to ni wa arazu kimi o mata mide ya to omou zo kanashikarikeru