霜おかぬ人の心はうつろひて
面変はりせぬ白菊の花
面変はりせぬ白菊の花
- Roma-ji
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Shimo okanu hito no kokoro wa utsuroite omogawari senu shiragiku no hana
- English Translation
-
Though no frost has come,
your heart has already changed
and faded away,
while unchanged in its face
stands the white chrysanthemum
- Meaning
- Though no frost has touched it, your heart has faded and changed, while the white chrysanthemum keeps the same face even in the frost.
- Commentary
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Book Seven Love Poems I 216
The poem contrasts the white chrysanthemum, whose color does not change even under frost, with a human heart that changes though no frost has touched it. By setting the unchanging flower before us, it brings out resentment toward the beloved who has had a change of heart.
The first line, "shimo okanu" (though no frost falls), assumes the common idea that chrysanthemums change color in the frost.
The second line, "hito no kokoro wa," singles out the human heart with "wa," setting it against the white chrysanthemum of the final line.
The third line, "utsuroite," overlays a flower's color fading with a heart's change.
The fourth line, "omogawari senu" (unchanged in face), is answered by the next poem, 217, with "kawaranu iro mo tanomarezu," retorting that even the unchanging chrysanthemum cannot be trusted.
The final line, "shiragiku no hana" (the white chrysanthemum), ends on a noun, highlighting the unchanging flower.
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Yamazakura tsui ni saku beki mono naraba hito no kokoro o tsukusazaranamu
- Next Poem
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Shiragiku no kawaranu iro mo tanomarezu utsurowade yamu aki shi nakereba