Wakarenishi mukashi wa tsuyu ka asajihara ato naki nobe ni akikaze zo fuku

別れにし昔は露か浅茅原
跡なき野辺にあき風ぞ吹く

Roma-ji: Wakarenishi mukashi wa tsuyu ka asajihara ato naki nobe ni akikaze zo fuku
English Translation: That long-ago
when we parted—was it dew?
On the moor of reeds,
the fields where no trace remains,
the autumn wind is blowing.
Meaning: Has the long-ago time of our parting vanished like the dew? On the reed moor, in fields where no trace remains, only the autumn wind of weariness blows.
Commentary: Love Poems 544

Headnote: "Love, on a tale"
Has the past of their parting vanished like dew? Now only the autumn wind blows over the reed moor where no trace of anyone remains. On the topic of love likened to a tale, it paints a desolate scene evoking a moment from a romance.

Line 1 means "from whom I parted."
Line 2: ka is interrogative, "was the past dew?"; the poem pauses here.
Line 3 names a moor of low reeds, suggesting desolation.
Line 4 means "on the fields with no trace," the same as line 2 of 509.
Line 5: zo binds the attributive fuku; aki means both autumn and weariness, suggesting a changed heart.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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