咲きしより散り果つるまで見しほどに
花のもとにて二十日経にけり
花のもとにて二十日経にけり
- Roma-ji
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Sakishi yori chirihatsuru made mishi hodo ni hana no moto nite hatsuka henikeri
- English Translation
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From when it blossomed
till its petals all had fallen
as I watched it bloom,
there beneath the flower
twenty days have slipped away.
- Meaning
- Watching from the time it bloomed until it had wholly fallen, I find I have spent twenty days beneath the flower.
- Commentary
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Book One Spring Poems 48
Having watched a flower from its blooming until it had wholly fallen, the poet realizes he has spent twenty days at its side. It is said to be a poem on the peony, and it wittily works in the number twenty from the peony's other name, "twenty-day flower."
The first line, "from when it blossomed," uses "shi," the attributive of the past "ki."
The second line, "till its petals all had fallen," together with the first line traces the whole life of the flower.
The third line, "as I watched it," means while I was looking.
The fourth line, "beneath the flower," shows that the poet never left its side.
The last line, "twenty days have slipped away," expresses surprise at time's passing with the perfective "ni" and "keri" of realization, drawing on the peony's name "twenty-day flower."
- Author
- Fujiwara no Tadamichi
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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