classic waka stream

あはれにぞ物めかしくは聞こえける
枯れたる楢の柴の落ち葉は
Roma-ji

Aware ni zo monomekashiku wa kikoekeru karetaru nara no shiba no ochiba wa

English Translation
How moving it was,
sounding as if something stirred
and had come to call:
the falling of the leaves from
the twigs of the withered oak.
Meaning
How moving it was, sounding as though someone had come: the fall of leaves from the withered oak twigs.
Commentary
Miscellaneous Poems 964

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The sound of leaves falling from withered oak twigs seemed deeply moving, as though someone had come, the poet says, portraying the loneliness of a mountain dwelling where even falling leaves suggest a visitor.

First line, “aware ni zo”: movingly; zo is answered by keru in the third line.
Second line, “monomekashiku wa”: monomekashi is as though something were there.
Third line, “kikoekeru”: it sounded; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “karetaru nara no”: of the withered oak.
Fifth line, “shiba no ochiba wa”: shiba are small twigs; inverted to follow the third line.
Author
Saigyō
Source
Sankashu
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