Yomosugara moyuru hotaru o kesa mireba kusa no ha goto ni tsuyu zo okikeru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

夜もすがら燃ゆる蛍を今朝見れば
草の葉ごとに露ぞ置きける

Roma-ji: Yomosugara moyuru hotaru o kesa mireba kusa no ha goto ni tsuyu zo okikeru
English Translation: All the night they burned,
the fireflies, and this morning
when I went to look,
on every blade of grass
the dew had settled there.
Meaning: When I looked this morning where the fireflies had burned all night, dew lay upon every blade of grass.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Spring Poems 1078

Headnote: "Composed on fireflies"
The poet says that when he looked this morning where the fireflies had burned all night, dew lay on every blade of grass. The headnote shows it was composed on the topic of fireflies. Pairing the fireflies' fire that burned through the night with the dew on the morning grass, it depicts a summer dawn in the exchange of fire and water, two opposites.
The author, Monk Kenshu, is a monk of whom little is known.

First line, "yomosugara," means "all night long."
Second line, "moyuru hotaru o," means "the fireflies that burned," likening their light to fire. It shares "moyu," to burn, with the third line of 1051 in this book, "moyuru made."
Third line, "kesa mireba," means "when I looked this morning," pairing "night" in the first line with "this morning."
Fourth line, "kusa no ha goto ni," means "on every blade of grass," echoing the final line of the closing poem, 1081, "kusaba naranedo," in singing of grass.
Final line, "tsuyu zo okikeru," means "dew lay," with the binding particle "zo" resolved by "keru," the attributive form of the past auxiliary "keri." The fire of "moyuru" in the second line contrasts with the water of "tsuyu" in the final line.
Author: Monk Kenshu
Source: Shui Wakashu
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