桜咲く木の下水は浅けれど
散り敷く花の淵とこそなれ
散り敷く花の淵とこそなれ
- Roma-ji
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Sakura saku ko no shitamizu wa asakeredo chirishiku hana no fuchi to koso nare
- English Translation
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Where cherries flower
the water under the trees
runs shallow, and yet
with blossoms strewn upon it
it becomes a pool of depth.
- Meaning
- The stream beneath the blooming cherries is shallow, yet with petals strewn upon it, it becomes a deep pool.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems 39
The shallow water flowing under the cherries becomes like a deep pool with fallen petals heaped upon it. The contrast of shallow stream and deep pool conveys the sheer abundance of falling flowers.
The author is said to be Minamoto no Morokata.
The first line, "where cherries flower," points to the trees in bloom.
The second line, "the water under the trees," is the stream running beneath them.
The third line, "runs shallow, and yet," sets shallowness against the "pool" of the last line.
The fourth line, "with blossoms strewn," uses the same "chirishiku" as the second line of 37, showing how many flowers have fallen.
The last line, "it becomes a pool of depth," closes a kakari-musubi with "koso" and the realis "nare."
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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