Asamashi ya mishi furusato no ayamegusa waga shiranu ma ni oi ni keru kana - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あさましや見しふるさとのあやめ草
我が知らぬ間に生ひにけるかな

Roma-ji: Asamashi ya mishi furusato no ayamegusa waga shiranu ma ni oi ni keru kana
English Translation: How astonishing,
in the old place I once knew,
the sweet flag has grown,
while I was unaware,
spreading wide and tall indeed
Meaning: How astonishing! In the old village I once knew, the sweet flag has grown up while I was not looking.
Commentary: Book Two Summer Poems 134

Visiting a familiar village seen long ago, the poet is astonished to find that the sweet flag has grown up while he was unaware. The passing of time is felt through the growth of the plant.
With this poem the sequence on the sweet flag ends, and poems on the summer rains follow from the next poem.

First line, 'asamashi ya', means how astonishing, and the poem breaks after the first line.
Second line, 'mishi furusato no', means of the old place I once saw, shi being the attributive form of the past ki.
Third line, 'ayamegusa', stands as the subject.
Fourth line, 'waga shiranu ma ni', means while I did not know, showing the passage of time.
Final line, 'oi ni keru kana', piles up the perfective nu, the exclamatory keri and the final particle kana, heightening the surprise.
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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