Kakikurashi yuki mo furanan sakurabana mada sakanu ma wa yosoete mo mimu - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

かきくらし雪も降らなん桜花
まだ咲かぬ間はよそへても見む

Roma-ji: Kakikurashi yuki mo furanan sakurabana mada sakanu ma wa yosoete mo mimu
English Translation: Darkening the sky,
may the snow at least come down;
cherry blossoms, while
you have not yet come to bloom,
I'll gaze at it in your place.
Meaning: Let the sky darken and the snow at least come down; while the cherry blossoms have yet to open, I will gaze at it and imagine it is them.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Spring Poems 1034

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet wishes that the sky would darken and snow would fall, so that while the cherries have yet to bloom, he could look at the snow and liken it to blossoms. It expresses a heart unable to wait for the cherries to open, seeking comfort by seeing snow as flowers. From here poems on the cherry continue, and up to 1037 stand poems of waiting for blossoms not yet opened.

First line, "kakikurashi," means "darkening the sky," describing the sky as snow begins to fall.
Second line, "yuki mo furanan," means "I wish that snow would fall," with "nan" a final particle expressing a wish directed at another. The poem breaks after this second line.
Third line, "sakurabana," means "the cherry blossoms."
Fourth line, "mada sakanu ma wa," means "while they have not yet bloomed," sharing the word "ma," interval, with the second line of the next poem, 1035, "hana no naki ma ni."
Final line, "yosoete mo mimu," means "I will look on it as them," with "mu" an auxiliary of intention.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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