Omoiyaru takane no kumo no hana naraba chiranu nanuka wa hareji to zo omou

思ひやる高嶺の雲の花ならば
散らぬ七日は晴れじとぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Omoiyaru takane no kumo no hana naraba chiranu nanuka wa hareji to zo omou
English Translation: If those clouds I long
for, upon the lofty peak,
were the blossoms there,
for the seven days they bloom
they would not clear, so I think.
Meaning: If the clouds on the high peak I gaze toward are blossoms, then for the seven days they stay unscattered, I think they will not clear away.
Commentary: Spring Poems 81

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When composing many poems on cherry blossoms"
Seeing clouds on a distant peak, the poet muses that if they are not clouds but cherry blossoms, they will not clear away for the seven days the flowers stay.
The prime of the cherry was said to last seven days, and the poem lays that brief span over the days the clouds will not clear. The first line omoiyaru is the same as in 63, and here too a heart reaching out to faraway blossoms is expressed through the conceit of clouds as flowers.

First line, “omoiyaru”: sending one's thoughts afar, the same first line as 63.
Second line, “takane no kumo no”: of the clouds on the high peak.
Third line, “hana naraba”: if they are blossoms, presenting the conceit of clouds as flowers as a supposition.
Fourth line, “chiranu nanuka wa”: for the seven days they do not scatter, drawing on the belief that cherries bloom for seven days.
Fifth line, “hareji to zo omou”: the emphatic zo forms a kakari-musubi with the attributive omou, closing with I think they will not clear.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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