Asayū ni hana matsu koro wa omoine no yume no uchi ni zo sakihajimekeru - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

朝夕に花待つころは思ひ寝の
夢のうちにぞ咲きはじめける

Roma-ji: Asayū ni hana matsu koro wa omoine no yume no uchi ni zo sakihajimekeru
English Translation: Morning and evening
in these days I wait for blossoms,
in the dreams I dream
as I sleep and long for them
they have begun to bloom
Meaning: In these days when I wait morning and evening for the blossoms, they have begun to bloom within the dreams I dream as I fall asleep thinking of them.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 41

Headnote: "Composed as a poem on spring when he summoned hundred-poem sequences"
Composed on the topic "spring" by Retired Emperor Sutoku himself when he summoned hundred-poem sequences from his poets, this poem says that in the days of longing morning and evening for the cherries to bloom, one falls asleep thinking of them, so the blossoms begin to open in dreams before they do in reality. The intensity of waiting for the blossoms is expressed through flowering in a dream.
The author, "Poem by Retired Emperor Sutoku," is Retired Emperor Sutoku, eldest son of Emperor Toba; "gyosei" denotes a poem composed by an emperor or retired emperor. He led the poetic world of the cloistered-rule period and commissioned the Kyūan Hundred-Poem Sequences, but after his defeat in the Hōgen Disturbance he was exiled to Sanuki and died there.

First line, "asayū ni": "morning and evening," constantly.
Second line, "hana matsu koro wa": "in the days of waiting for the blossoms." Around here the book turns to poems on cherry blossoms.
Third line, "omoine no": "omoine" is falling asleep while thinking of something.
Fourth line, "yume no uchi ni zo": the particle "zo" links with "keru" in the last line.
Fifth line, "sakihajimekeru": "they have begun to bloom." Where the opening poem, 1, ended with haze "tachihajimekeru," beginning to rise, this one ends with blossoms "sakihajimekeru," beginning to bloom, so the start of spring and the start of the blossoms echo each other.
Author: Retired Emperor Sutoku
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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