Niwa ni nagasu shimizu no sue o sekitomete kadota yashinau kokoro ni mo aru kana

庭に流す清水の末を堰き止めて
門田養ふ心にもあるかな

Roma-ji: Niwa ni nagasu shimizu no sue o sekitomete kadota yashinau kokoro ni mo aru kana
English Translation: Damming up the end
of the clear stream that I let
flow into the garden,
there is too, I find, a heart
that would nourish the gate's fields.
Meaning: Damming the end of the clear stream I let flow through the garden, I find there is also a heart that would nourish the fields before the gate.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1437

Headnote: none
Damming the end of the clear water flowing through the garden is also a heart that would nourish the fields before the gate, the poet says.
It sings of the household wisdom of using water meant for the garden's beauty to nourish fields. In contrast to the preceding poem, which saw irrigation water with refined eyes, this one puts water of refinement to practical use, the two forming a pair.

First line, “niwa ni nagasu”: flowing through the garden; the line has an extra syllable.
Second line, “shimizu no sue o”: the end of the clear stream.
Third line, “sekitomete”: damming it.
Fourth line, “kadota yashinau”: kadota are fields before the gate; nourishing them.
Fifth line, “kokoro ni mo aru kana”: kana is exclamatory; the line has an extra syllable.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Tashiro miyuru ike no tsutsumi no kasa soete tatōru mizu ya haru no yo no tame
Next Poem: Fushimi suginu okanoya ni nao todomaraji hino made yukite koma kokoromin