Mushi no ne o yowariyuku ka to kiku kara ni kokoro ni aki no hikazu o zo furu

虫の音を弱りゆくかと聞くからに
心に秋の日数をぞ経る

Roma-ji: Mushi no ne o yowariyuku ka to kiku kara ni kokoro ni aki no hikazu o zo furu
English Translation: When the insects' cries
seem to me to weaken now,
hearing them, at once
in my heart the days of autumn
I go counting as they pass.
Meaning: The moment I hear the insects' voices and wonder whether they are growing weaker, I find myself counting over in my heart how many days of autumn have gone by.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 456

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When I composed poems on insects"
This is the twelfth poem in the insect series. As soon as the poet hears the insects' voices and wonders whether they are growing weaker, he counts in his heart how many days of autumn have passed and thinks of the days gone by. In the fading of the insects' voices he senses the deepening of autumn and the passing of time.
The insect voices that first began in 445 are heard here as weakening, and the insect series moves toward the end of autumn. The next poem also lays the weakening insects over the poet's own life.

First line, “mushi no ne o”: the insects' voices.
Second line, “yowariyuku ka to”: wondering whether they are growing weaker.
Third line, “kiku kara ni”: kara ni means as soon as, merely on doing.
Fourth line, “kokoro ni aki no”: in my heart, of autumn.
Fifth line, “hikazu o zo furu”: zo is answered by the attributive furu, passing through and counting the days of autumn gone by.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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