Sayo fukete kari no tsubasa ni oku shimo no kiete mo mono wa omou kagiri o

さ夜更けて雁の翼に置く霜の
消えても物は思ふかぎりを

Roma-ji: Sayo fukete kari no tsubasa ni oku shimo no kiete mo mono wa omou kagiri o
English Translation: As the night deepens,
like the frost that settles
on the wild goose's wings,
though I vanish, still my longing
knows no end at all.
Meaning: Like the frost that settles on the wings of the wild geese as night deepens, though I may vanish, my longing has no end.
Commentary: Love Poems 416

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Among poems on love"
Like frost settling on the wings of geese crossing the sky late at night, the poet may vanish, yet his longing knows no bounds. Exchanging the dew of the two preceding poems for frost, the poem shows the depth of feeling against a cold night sky.
The Ruijū text titles it "Composed on the heart of love." According to the notes in the base text, the Ruijū and Teika texts read "dew" for "frost" in line 3. Here the base text is followed.

Line 1 means "as the night deepens," sa being a euphonic prefix.
Line 2 means "on the wings of the wild geese," continuing the birds' wings after the magpies of the preceding poem.
Line 3 means "like the frost that settles," leading to "vanish"; it replaces the settling dew of the two preceding poems with frost.
Line 4 means "though I vanish," suggesting dying of love.
Line 5 means "yet my longing has no limit," an exclamation at a longing that outlasts vanishing.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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