Haru wa hana aki wa momiji to chirihatete tachikakurubeki ko no moto mo nashi - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春は花秋は紅葉と散り果てて
立ち隠るべきこのもともなし

Roma-ji: Haru wa hana aki wa momiji to chirihatete tachikakurubeki ko no moto mo nashi
English Translation: Spring's flowers, autumn's
colored leaves, so both have fallen
and are wholly gone;
now there is no tree to stand
and shelter beneath, no child.
Meaning: Blossoms in spring, colored leaves in autumn, all have fallen away, and now there is no tree beneath which I might shelter, no children left to me.
Commentary: Book Twenty Lament Poems 1311

Headnote: "When someone sent condolences to a person who had had two children, one of whom died in spring and the other in autumn"
The poet says that, the spring blossoms and autumn leaves having all fallen, there is no tree left to shelter beneath. The headnote shows it was the answer of a person who had two children, one dying in spring and the other in autumn, on receiving condolences. Likening the two children who died one after another in spring and autumn to spring blossoms and autumn leaves, and pivoting on "ko no moto," beneath the tree and beside the child, it laments the loss of all the children on whom the parent relied. With the preceding poem, 1310, it shares the grief of losing a child and with it all support.

First line, "haru wa hana," means "in spring as blossoms," likening them to the child who died in spring.
Second line, "aki wa momiji to," means "in autumn as colored leaves," likening them to the child who died in autumn. It forms a parallel with the first line.
Third line, "chirihatete," means "having fallen away entirely," speaking of both children having died.
Fourth line, "tachikakurubeki," means "where I might stand and shelter," a place to rely on against wind and rain.
Final line, "ko no moto mo nashi," is a pivot word: "ko no moto" means "beneath the tree" and "beside the child." It shares the same pivot with the fourth line of 1284 in this book, "ika ni ko no moto."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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