Aoba sae mireba kokoro no tomaru kana chirinishi hana no nagori omoeba

青葉さへ見れば心のとまるかな
散りにし花の名残思へば

Roma-ji: Aoba sae mireba kokoro no tomaru kana chirinishi hana no nagori omoeba
English Translation: Even the green leaves,
when I see them, how they hold
my heart lingering,
for I think of them as all
that's left of the fallen flowers.
Meaning: Even the green leaves hold my heart when I see them, for I think of them as what remains of the blossoms that have fallen.
Commentary: Spring Poems 158

Headnote: "On the topic “Thinking of the blossoms after they have fallen”"
The topic is thinking of the blossoms after they have fallen. Even the green leaves that come after the flowers hold the poet's heart when he sees them, because he thinks of them as all that remains of the fallen blossoms.
Even after the flowers themselves are gone, he finds their image in the green leaves on the boughs where they bloomed and grieves for what remains. Here the long chain of cherry poems turns to green leaves and moves toward the end of spring.

First line, “aoba sae”: sae means even, adding the green leaves to the blossoms.
Second line, “mireba kokoro no”: when I see them, my heart.
Third line, “tomaru kana”: how it is held, with the exclamatory kana and a break after the third line.
Fourth line, “chirinishi hana no”: of the blossoms that have fallen.
Fifth line, “nagori omoeba”: when I think of what remains, giving in inverted order the reason the heart lingers.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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