Utsusemi no yo wa yume nare ya sakurabana sakite wa chirinu aware itsu made

空蝉の世は夢なれや桜花
咲きては散りぬあはれいつまで

Roma-ji: Utsusemi no yo wa yume nare ya sakurabana sakite wa chirinu aware itsu made
English Translation: Shell of the cicada,
is this world a dream, I wonder?
The cherry blossoms
bloomed, and now they have fallen;
alas, for how long now?
Meaning: Is this world, empty as a cicada's shell, only a dream? The cherry blossoms bloomed and now have fallen. Alas, how long will it go on?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 705

Headnote: illegible in the source as displayed
Is this world a dream? The cherry blossoms bloom and fall at once; the poet entrusts the world's transience to the cherry. Using the same last line as the preceding poem, it deepens the lament of impermanence.

Line 1, utsusemi no, is a pillow word for "world."
Line 2 means "is the world a dream?" ya interrogative, with a break after the line.
Line 3 means "cherry blossoms."
Line 4 means "blooming, they have fallen"; the next poem, 706, also sings of cherries.
Line 5 is the same as the preceding poem's.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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