Chiru hana o mi ni kau bakari omoedomo kanawade toshi no oinikeru kana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

散る花を身にかふばかり思へども
かなはで年の老いにけるかな

Roma-ji: Chiru hana o mi ni kau bakari omoedomo kanawade toshi no oinikeru kana
English Translation: Falling blossoms
I have loved enough to give
my life in exchange,
yet it was never granted,
and I have only grown old
Meaning: I have loved the falling blossoms enough to give my own life in exchange for them, yet that wish was never granted, and I have simply grown old.
Commentary: Book Two Spring Poems II 95

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed as a poem on blossoms"
Like the preceding poem, this was composed on the topic of "blossoms." Grieving for the falling blossoms, the poet has long wished to keep them even at the cost of his own life, but the wish was never granted; the flowers have fallen every year, and he has only grown old. Deep love for the blossoms is layered with the lament of a man who has aged without fulfilling his wish.
The author, "Priest Ken'in," is Dōin; other texts give "Priest Dōin," and the character "ken" is thought to be an error for "dō." His lay name was Fujiwara no Atsuyori, son of Fujiwara no Kiyotaka of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He rose to Assistant Head of the Right Horse Bureau before taking holy orders. He is known for his devotion to poetry into great old age, and a poem of his is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, "chiru hana o": names the falling blossoms the poet grieves for.
Second line, "mi ni kau bakari": "enough to exchange for myself." "Uki mi ni kauru" in 92 of this book likewise wishes to exchange oneself for the blossoms.
Third line, "omoedomo": "domo" is concessive, "though I thought so."
Fourth line, "kanawade toshi no": the negative conjunctive "de" gives "without the wish being granted," covering both his failure to keep the blossoms and his having lived on without taking their place.
Fifth line, "oinikeru kana": "ni" is the continuative of the perfective "nu," "keru" the attributive of "keri," and "kana" exclamatory, lamenting that only the years have passed while he mourned the blossoms.
Author: Dōin
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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