Mushi no ne mo mada uchitokenu kusamura ni aki o kanete mo musubu tsuyu kana - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

虫の音もまだうちとけぬ草むらに
秋をかねても結ぶ露かな

Roma-ji: Mushi no ne mo mada uchitokenu kusamura ni aki o kanete mo musubu tsuyu kana
English Translation: In the grassy tufts
where the insects' voices still
have not found their ease,
looking ahead to autumn
the dewdrops gather already.
Meaning: In the grass where the insects have not yet begun to sing freely, the dew is already forming, as if preparing ahead of time for autumn.
Commentary: Book Two Summer Poems 81

In the late-summer grass where the insects have not yet begun to sing in earnest, dew, an emblem of autumn, has already settled. The poet sees a sign of the changing season in dew that prepares for autumn ahead of the insects.
This is the final poem of the Summer book. Where the opening poem, 51, announced the start of summer with a summer robe, this one marks summer's end with autumn dew, so the opening and close of the book answer each other. The first poem of Book Three, 82, sings of a faint autumn wind, so the arrangement flows naturally from this poem's foretaste of autumn into the Autumn book.

First line, "the insects' voices," names a typical emblem of autumn.
Second line says the insects have not yet begun to sing freely.
Third line shows where the dew settles.
Fourth line uses kanu, "to do in advance," and the contrast of dew greeting autumn before the insects is the heart of the poem.
Fifth line closes with the exclamatory kana, bringing the book to an end.
Author: Sone no Yoshitada
Source: Shika Wakashu
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