Yuki o usumi kakine ni tsumeru karanazuna nazusawamaku no hoshiki kimi kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

雪をうすみ垣根に摘める唐なづな
なづさはまくのほしき君かな

Roma-ji: Yuki o usumi kakine ni tsumeru karanazuna nazusawamaku no hoshiki kimi kana
English Translation: Snow lying thinly,
by the hedge I picked for you
this shepherd's purse;
it is you, my love, I long
to draw near and be close to.
Meaning: Like the shepherd's purse I picked by the hedge where the snow lay thin, you are the one I long to draw close to.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Spring Poems 1021

Headnote: "Sent to a woman, attached to shepherd's purse flowers"
The poet says that, like the shepherd's purse he picked by the hedge where the snow lay thin, she is one he longs to grow close to. The headnote shows it was sent to a woman, attached to shepherd's purse flowers. Likening the thin snow to the white flowers of the shepherd's purse, it praises the woman's pure beauty, and repeating the shared sound of "nazuna" and "nazusau," it conveys his wish to draw close to her.
The author, Fujiwara no Nagatō, was a son of Fujiwara no Tomoyasu and a younger brother of the Mother of Michitsuna. He served Emperor Kazan as a close attendant and held posts such as Vice-Governor of Kazusa and Governor of Iga. He taught poetry to the monk Nōin, which is regarded as the first master-pupil relationship in the way of poetry. He is one of the Thirty-Six Later Immortal Poets.

First line, "yuki o usumi," means "since the snow lies thin," with "o ... mi" expressing cause or reason.
Second line, "kakine ni tsumeru," means "picked by the hedge," with "ru" the attributive form of the auxiliary "ri."
Third line, "karanazuna," is a kind of shepherd's purse, and the first three lines form an introductory phrase that, repeating the sound "nazu," leads to "nazusawamaku" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "nazusawamaku no," means "to grow close," with "nazusawamaku" formed from "nazusau" and the nominalized form of the auxiliary "mu."
Final line, "hoshiki kimi kana," means "you whom I long for," with "kana" exclamatory.
Author: Fujiwara no Nagato
Source: Shui Wakashu
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