Okuri okite kaerishi nobe no asatsuyu o sode ni utsusu wa namida narikeri

送り置きて帰りし野辺の朝露を
袖に移すは涙なりけり

Roma-ji: Okuri okite kaerishi nobe no asatsuyu o sode ni utsusu wa namida narikeri
English Translation: Leaving her there and
coming home, the morning dew
of the burial fields,
what carries it to my sleeves
is in truth my falling tears.
Meaning: The morning dew of the fields where we left her and came home, what carries it onto my sleeves is, after all, my tears.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 819

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "After the death of the Second Rank Lady of the Retired Emperor, when people composed ten poems"
This is the third of the ten. Having left the departed in the burial fields and come home, the poet finds that what carries the morning dew of those fields onto his sleeves is in truth his tears. The conceit is that his sleeves are wet not with the dew of the fields but with tears of grief.

First line, “okuri okite”: having taken her to the fields and left her; a line of six syllables.
Second line, “kaerishi nobe no”: nobe is the burial ground.
Third line, “asatsuyu o”: the morning dew, taking up the dew of the preceding poem.
Fourth line, “sode ni utsusu wa”: what moves it onto my sleeves.
Fifth line, “namida narikeri”: narikeri marks realization; it is my tears.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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