白菊の変はらぬ色も頼まれず
うつろはでやむあきしなければ
うつろはでやむあきしなければ
- Roma-ji
-
Shiragiku no kawaranu iro mo tanomarezu utsurowade yamu aki shi nakereba
- English Translation
-
Even the unchanged
color of white chrysanthemums
cannot be relied on,
for there is no autumn yet
that ended without fading
- Meaning
- Even the unchanging color of the white chrysanthemum cannot be trusted, for there has never been an autumn that ended without its fading; your heart too will tire of me in time.
- Commentary
-
Book Seven Love Poems I 217
As if responding to the white chrysanthemum of the preceding poem, this poem says that even the flower's unchanging color cannot be trusted, since no autumn ends without its fading. Letting "aki" (autumn) echo "aki" (weariness), it retorts that human hearts too will tire and turn in time.
The first line, "shiragiku no" (the white chrysanthemum's), takes up "shiragiku no hana," the final line of the preceding poem, 216, and sings of the same flower from the opposite stance.
The second line, "kawaranu iro mo," answers "omogawari senu" in the preceding poem, meaning with "mo" even that unchanging color.
The third line, "tanomarezu," combines the potential "ru" and negative "zu" to mean cannot be relied on, with a break after the third line.
The fourth line, "utsurowade yamu," uses the negative "de" to mean ending without fading.
The final line, "aki shi nakereba," is a pivot word joining autumn and weariness, with the intensifier "shi," giving the reason by inversion.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Kinzane
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Shimo okanu hito no kokoro wa utsuroite omogawari senu shiragiku no hana
- Next Poem
-
Kurenai no kozome no koromo ue ni kimu koi no namida no iro kakuru ya to