Oite koso haru no oshisa wa masarikere ima ikutabi mo awaji to omoeba - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

老いてこそ春の惜しさはまさりけれ
今いくたびも逢はじと思へば

Roma-ji: Oite koso haru no oshisa wa masarikere ima ikutabi mo awaji to omoeba
English Translation: It is in old age
that the sorrow of spring's passing
grows the deeper still,
for I think that not many times
shall I meet with it again.
Meaning: It is in old age that regret for passing spring grows deepest, for I know I will not meet many more springs.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 49

The poet finds that regret for departing spring grows stronger with age. The thought of how few springs remain in one's life deepens the feeling of loss.
The author is said to be Tachibana no Toshinari. Placed near the end of the book, it leads as a poem of regret for spring into the closing poem that follows.

The first line, "in old age," emphasizes with "koso": it is precisely once old.
The second line, "the sorrow of spring's passing," is the feeling of regret as spring goes by.
The third line, "grows the deeper still," closes a kakari-musubi with the "koso" of the first line and the realis "kere"; the poem breaks here.
The fourth line, "not many times," thinks of the years still left.
The last line, "shall I meet with it again," uses "ji" for negative conjecture, placing the reason last by inversion; it takes the same form as "will remain" in the last line of 46.
Source: Shika Wakashu
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