Tare naran arata no kuro ni sumire tsumu hito wa kokoro no warinakaru beshi

誰ならん荒田の畔に菫摘む
人は心のわりなかるべし

Roma-ji: Tare naran arata no kuro ni sumire tsumu hito wa kokoro no warinakaru beshi
English Translation: Who could that one be,
on the ridge of the wild field,
picking violets there?
Such a one must surely have
a heart beyond all reason.
Meaning: Who could it be, picking violets on the ridge of the neglected field? That person's heart must be past all reason in its love of them.
Commentary: Spring Poems 160

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Violets"
This is the second poem on violets. Seeing someone picking violets on the ridge of a neglected field, the poet wonders who it is: to go out of one's way to pick violets in such a place, that person must love them beyond reason.
Following the preceding poem, which wondered who would pick violets in a neglected garden, this one portrays someone actually picking them. Tare wakeirite in the preceding poem and the first line tare naran here echo each other, the two poems continuing the interest in the violet-picker.

First line, “tare naran”: who could it be, with a break after the first line, echoing tare wakeirite in the fourth line of the preceding poem.
Second line, “arata no kuro ni”: on the ridge of a neglected field.
Third line, “sumire tsumu”: picking violets, modifying hito in the fourth line.
Fourth line, “hito wa kokoro no”: that person's heart.
Fifth line, “warinakaru beshi”: must be past all reason, closing with the conjectural beshi.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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