Hana wa ne ni tori wa furusu ni kaeru nari haru no tomari o shiru hito zo naki - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

花は根に鳥は古巣に帰るなり
春のとまりを知る人ぞなき

Roma-ji: Hana wa ne ni tori wa furusu ni kaeru nari haru no tomari o shiru hito zo naki
English Translation: The flowers to the roots,
the birds to their old nests,
return, so they say,
but where spring goes to rest
there is no one who knows
Meaning: Blossoms return to their roots and birds to their old nests, so they say, yet no one knows where the spring goes to rest.
Commentary: Book Two Spring Poems II 122

Headnote: "Composed by the Retired Emperor on the topic 'Late Spring' when he called for hundred-poem sequences"
Composed by Retired Emperor Sutoku himself on the topic "Late Spring" when he called for hundred-poem sequences. Fallen blossoms return to their roots and birds to their old nests, it is said, yet no one knows where the departing spring comes to rest. Through the contrast between flowers and birds that have somewhere to return and spring whose destination is unknown, the poem conveys regret for the passing season with lingering resonance.
The author, "Poem by Retired Emperor Sutoku," is Emperor Sutoku, eldest son of Emperor Toba. Defeated in the Hōgen Disturbance, he was exiled to Sanuki and died there. He loved poetry deeply and is known for calling for the Kyūan Hundred-Poem Sequence. A poem of his is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
It draws on Chinese lines for the last day of the Third Month in the Wakan Rōeishū, "Blossoms may regret returning to their roots, but regret is of no use; birds may plan to enter the valley, but surely they will put it off," setting the destinations of flowers and birds side by side like a couplet.

First line, "hana wa ne ni": "blossoms return to their roots." Poem 93 of this book, "kozue ni kaeru hana no shirayuki," shows fallen blossoms returning to the treetops instead.
Second line, "tori wa furusu ni": "birds to their old nests," a parallel to the first line.
Third line, "kaeru nari": "nari" expresses hearsay: "they return, so it is said." The poem pauses here. Like "kaeramashi" in the preceding poem, 121, it speaks of "returning" at the end of spring.
Fourth line, "haru no tomari o": "tomari" is where one ends up or stops for the night. Against the homes of flowers and birds, it asks where spring will come to rest.
Fifth line, "shiru hito zo naki": "zo" closes with the attributive "naki," stating firmly that no one knows where spring goes and showing the loneliness of its departure. "Haru no yukue wa shiranedomo" in 129 of this book also speaks of not knowing where spring goes.
Author: Retired Emperor Sutoku
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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