Composed on the conception of evening.
たそがれに物おもひをれば我が宿の荻のはそよぎ秋風ぞふく
tasogare ni mono’omoi oreba wa ga yado no ogi no ha soyogi akikaze zo fuku With the twilight Gloom fills my thoughts, when At my home The silver grass frond rustle— On blows the autumn wind!
On seeing silver grass in the grounds at dawn.
朝ぼらけ荻のうへふく秋風にしたばおしなみ露ぞこぼるる
asaborake ogi no ue fuku akikaze ni shitaba oshinami tsuyu zo koboruru Just as dawn is breaking Over the silver grass blows The autumn breeze— All pressed down together, the lower fronds Shed dewdrops.
When the bush clover was lingering in the grounds, and I was unable to see whether the blossoms had scattered with the moon shining behind them.
萩のはなくれぐれまでもありつるが月いでてみるになきがはかなさ
hagi no hana kuregure made mo aritsuru ga tsuki idete miru ni naki ga hakanasa The bush clover blooms Right until the evening Did linger, but With the rising moon they seem Gone—how brief they are!
Bush clover at the roadside.
みちのべのをのの夕霧たちかへりみてこそゆかめ秋はぎの花
michi no be no ono no yūgiri tachikaeri mite koso yukame akihagi no hana By the roadside Across the meadows evening mists Rise and fall endlessly; Thus would I go and see The autumn bush clover blooms.[1]
[1] An allusive variation on: For a poetry competition held in the Tenryaku era. 春ふかみゐてのかは浪たちかへり見てこそゆかめ山吹の花 haru fukami / ide no kawanami / tachikaeri / mite koso yukame / yamabuki no hana ‘In the depths of spring / Waves on the river at Idé / Rise and fall endlessly; / Thus would I go and see / The kerria blooms…’ Minamoto no Shitagō (SIS I: 68 ).
Bush clover at an ancient estate.
故郷のもとあらのこはぎいたづらに見る人なしみさきかちりなん
furusato no motoara no kohagi itazura ni miru hito nashi mi saki ka chirinan At this ancient estate, does The sparse bush clover, So pointlessly, With no one to see Bloom and then scatter away?
Bush clover in the grounds.
秋風はいたくな吹きそわがやどのもとあらの小萩ちらまくもをし
akikaze wa itaku na fuki so wa ga yado no motoara no kohagi chiramaku mo oshi O, autumn breezes, Blow not so fiercely! For at my home The scanty bush clover’s Scattering around I do regret!
花におく露をしづけみしらすげのまのの萩原しをれあひにけり
hana ni oku tsuyu o shizukemi shirasuge no mano no hagiwara shioreainikeri Upon the blossom fallen Dewdrops bring quiet to White-sedge covered Mano’s bush-clover groves, All drooping together.
みる人もなくて散りにき時雨のみふりにし里の秋萩のはな
miru hito mo nakute chiriniki shigure nomi furinishi sato no akihagi no hana To see there was No one as it scattered With a simple shower Falling on the ancient estate, Autumn’s bush clover blooms.
Composed on bush-clover.
秋はぎの下葉もいまだうつろはぬに今朝吹く風は袂すずしも
akihagi no shitaba mo imada utsurowanu ni kesa fuku kaze wa tamoto suzushimo The autumn bush-clover’s Under-leaves have yet To fade, though The breeze blowing this morning Was cool upon my sleeves.
Blossoming grasses.
のべに出でてそほちにけりなから衣きつつ分けゆく花のしづくに
nobe ni idete sōchinikeri na karakoromo kitsutsu wakeyuku hana no shizuku ni Heading out into the meadows How damp has become My Cathay robe As I forge ever onward Through the droplets on the blossom.
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'Simply moving and elegant'