classic waka stream

山桜梢の風の寒ければ
花の盛りになりぞわづらふ
Roma-ji

Yamazakura kozue no kaze no samukereba hana no sakari ni nari zo wazurau

English Translation
Mountain cherry trees,
since the wind across the boughs
blows so very cold,
to the fullness of their bloom
they struggle to come at last
Meaning
Because the wind blowing through their branches is still cold, the mountain cherries are slow to reach their full bloom.
Commentary
Book Eleven Variant Poems 667

Because the wind across the treetops is still cold, the mountain cherries struggle to come into full bloom. Thinking of the cold of the mountains in early spring and the lateness of the flowers, the poem expresses impatience for their peak by treating the mountain cherry as though it were a person.
This poem is found only in a variant manuscript line of the anthology; in the variant order it is placed after 38 in Book One. Poems on cherries in their prime stand around it, and 40 in Book One, which follows, also sings of the cherry treetops.

First line, 'yamazakura', means the mountain cherry.
Second line, 'kozue no kaze no', means the wind across the treetops. Like kozue nite in the third line of 40 in Book One, it sings of the cherry boughs.
Third line, 'samukereba', means since it is cold, the realis of samushi followed by ba expressing a reason.
Fourth line, 'hana no sakari ni', means to the fullness of bloom.
Final line, 'nari zo wazurau', means they struggle to become, the particle zo answered by the attributive wazurau. The mountain cherry is personified.
Source
Kinyo Wakashu
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