Asajiu ni kesa oku tsuyu no samukeku ni karenishi hito no nazo ya koishiki - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

浅茅生に今朝置く露の寒けくに
かれにし人のなぞや恋しき

Roma-ji: Asajiu ni kesa oku tsuyu no samukeku ni karenishi hito no nazo ya koishiki
English Translation: In the cogon field
the dew that has fallen this morning
lies so cold that I —
why is it I long for one
who withered away from me
Meaning: The dew that settled this morning on the field of low cogon grass is so cold — why, then, do I so long for the one who has drifted away from me, like the withered grass?
Commentary: Book Eight Love Poems II 264

Moved by the chill of morning dew on a field of low cogon grass, the poet finds himself inexplicably longing for a lover who has drifted away. Playing on "kare" as both withering and drifting apart, he overlays the cold field on the loneliness of a heart remembering one who has left.

The first line, "asajiu ni" (in the cogon field), refers to a desolate field of low grass.
The second line, "kesa oku tsuyu no," names the dew that settled this morning and leads into the cold of the third line.
The third line, "samukeku ni," is the nominalized form of "samushi" (cold) and gives the reason: because it is cold.
The fourth line, "karenishi hito no," is a pivot word joining grass withering and a person drifting away, forming an associated word with "asajiu" in the first line.
The final line, "nazo ya koishiki," forms a kakari-musubi of "ya" and the attributive "koishiki," ending with the question of why he longs so.
Author: Fujiwara no Mototoshi
Source: Shika Wakashu
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