Omoe tada hana no chirinan ko no moto ni nani o kage nite waga mi suminan

思へただ花の散りなん木の下に
何を陰にて我が身住みなん

Roma-ji: Omoe tada hana no chirinan ko no moto ni nani o kage nite waga mi suminan
English Translation: Only think of it:
beneath the tree where blossoms
will have fallen all,
in what shelter, then, shall I
make my dwelling and abide?
Meaning: Just think of it: beneath the tree where the blossoms will have fallen, what shall I have for shelter as I live on there?
Commentary: Spring Poems 119

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When composing many poems on falling blossoms"
For one who lives beneath the blossoms, the poet laments, once they fall, what shade, what support, will he have to live by under that tree?
Kage means both the shade of a tree one shelters in and a support for the heart, conveying that losing the blossoms means losing the mainstay of his life. With the forceful first line omoe tada, he calls for sympathy with the loneliness of losing the flowers.

First line, “omoe tada”: just think of it, a strong imperative appeal with a break after the first line.
Second line, “hana no chirinan”: where the blossoms will have fallen.
Third line, “ko no moto ni”: beneath that tree.
Fourth line, “nani o kage nite”: taking what as shelter; kage carries both the tree's shade and something to rely on.
Fifth line, “waga mi suminan”: shall I live on, closing in answer to the question of the fourth line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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