桜花散り敷く庭を払はねば
消えせぬ雪となりにけるかな
消えせぬ雪となりにけるかな
- Roma-ji
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Sakurabana chirishiku niwa o harawaneba kiesenu yuki to narinikeru kana
- English Translation
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Cherry blossoms
strew the garden all around;
since I left them unswept
they have turned to a snowfall
that will never melt away.
- Meaning
- Since I never swept the garden strewn with cherry blossoms, it has become a snow that never melts.
- Commentary
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Book One Spring Poems 37
Having left the fallen petals unswept, the poet finds the garden covered as if by snow that never melts. Likening petals to snow, the poem finds charm in their not melting as real snow would.
The author is said to be Settsu.
The first line, "cherry blossoms," here are the petals lying on the ground.
The second line, "strew the garden all around," describes a garden carpeted with petals, leading to "the garden's face" in the next poem.
The third line, "since I left them unswept," is a definite condition with the realis plus "ba."
The fourth line, "a snowfall that will never melt," likens petals to snow; "heaped-up snow" in 43 uses the same image.
The last line, "they have turned," expresses the emotion of realization with the perfective "ni" and the exclamatory "keru kana."
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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Sakurabana kaze ni shi chiranu mono naraba omou koto naki haru ni zo aramashi
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Haku hito mo naki furusato no niwa no omo wa hana chirite koso mirubekarikere