Ogi no oto wa mono omou ware ka nani nareba koboruru tsuyu no sode ni okuran

荻の音は物思ふ我か何なれば
こぼるる露の袖に置くらん

Roma-ji: Ogi no oto wa mono omou ware ka nani nareba koboruru tsuyu no sode ni okuran
English Translation: Is the sound of reeds
none other than me, brooding?
For what reason, then,
does the dew that spills from them
settle here upon my sleeves?
Meaning: Is the sound of the reeds really me, lost in brooding? Why else would the dew that spills from them settle upon my sleeves?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1274

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "One hundred and ten love poems"
Is the rustling of the reeds my brooding self? Why else would the dew spilling from them settle on my sleeves? the poet asks.
Moved to tears by the reeds' sound, he sings of the tears on his sleeves as if the reeds' dew had passed onto them. In the illusion of becoming one with the reeds, the depth of his brooding shows. The wind over the reeds also appeared in 1267.

First line, “ogi no oto wa”: the rustling of the reeds in the wind; the line has an extra syllable.
Second line, “mono omou ware ka”: is it I who brood?; the line has an extra syllable.
Third line, “nani nareba”: for what reason.
Fourth line, “koboruru tsuyu no”: the dew that spills, figuring tears.
Fifth line, “sode ni okuran”: ran conjectures a cause, "why does it settle on my sleeves?"
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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