草の葉にはかなく消ゆる露をしも
形見に置きて秋の行くらむ
形見に置きて秋の行くらむ
- Roma-ji
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Kusa no ha ni hakanaku kiyuru tsuyu o shimo katami ni okite aki no yukuramu
- English Translation
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On the blades of grass
of all things the dew that fades
so fleetingly away
does autumn leave behind
as a keepsake as it goes
- Meaning
- Of all things, does autumn leave behind the dew that so quickly vanishes from the blades of grass as its keepsake when it departs?
- Commentary
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Book Three Autumn Poems 255
Departing autumn, the poet wonders, leaves as its keepsake of all things the dew that so quickly vanishes from the blades of grass. That autumn's memento should be the fleeting dew lays the transience of the passing season over the grief of parting.
The word katami, keepsake, also appears in poem 212 in this book, where the moon is a keepsake of the past. Following the preceding poem, 254, which sees the autumn mist as tomorrow's memory, this poem sees the dew as autumn's keepsake.
Poems 254 through 256 in this book mourn the passing of autumn and bring the autumn book to a close.
First line, 'kusa no ha ni', means on the blades of grass.
Second line, 'hakanaku kiyuru', means vanishing so fleetingly, showing the dew's transience.
Third line, 'tsuyu o shimo', uses the emphatic shimo: the dew, of all things.
Fourth line, 'katami ni okite', uses katami, a keepsake of what departs, while oku overlays the settling of dew. Poem 212 in this book also has katami.
Final line, 'aki no yukuramu', means does autumn go away, ramu being the auxiliary of present conjecture.
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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