Oi ga yo ni uki koto kikanu kiku dani mo utsurou iro wa arikeri to miyo - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

老いが世に憂きこと聞かぬ菊だにも
うつろふ色はありけりと見よ

Roma-ji: Oi ga yo ni uki koto kikanu kiku dani mo utsurou iro wa arikeri to miyo
English Translation: In an age of years,
never hearing of sorrow,
even the chrysanthemum
has a color that will fade:
see that it is so, and know.
Meaning: See how even the chrysanthemum, which brings long life and knows nothing of sorrow, has a color that fades.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Autumn Poems 1122

Headnote: "Sent with a faded chrysanthemum to a man given to jealousy, after they had parted"
The poet asks the man to see that even the chrysanthemum, which brings long life and should know nothing of sorrow, has a color that fades. The headnote shows it was composed when, after parting from a jealous man, she sent him a chrysanthemum whose color had faded. Laying the fading of the flower's color over the changing of human hearts, she conveys through the chrysanthemum that a change of heart cannot be helped.

First line, "oi ga yo ni," means "in an age of old age," for the chrysanthemum was held to ward off old age and bring long life.
Second line, "uki koto kikanu," means "knowing nothing of sorrow."
Third line, "kiku dani mo," means "even the chrysanthemum," with "dani" a particle that names a lesser case to suggest a greater one. It stands beside the third line of the preceding poem, 1121, "kiku no hana," as chrysanthemum poems.
Fourth line, "utsurou iro wa," means "a color that changes," overlaying the fading of the flower's color with a change of heart.
Final line, "arikeri to miyo," means "see that it is so," with "keri" a sigh of realization and "miyo" in the imperative.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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