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Kokinshu #271
Wednesday, 11 July 2012 07:12 A poem from the poetry contest held in the palace of the consort in the Kanpyô era.
When I planted you,
chrysanthemum whose flowers
I so anxiously
awaited, did I foresee
we'd meet in fading autumn?
(Unexpected historical development: here's a nari-adjective that became a modern i-adjective -- I'd thought they all became na-adjectives.)
ueshi toki
hana machidô ni
arishi kiku
utsurou aki ni
awamu to ya mishi
---L.
When I planted you,
chrysanthemum whose flowers
I so anxiously
awaited, did I foresee
we'd meet in fading autumn?
—23 June & 10 July 2012
Original by Ôe no Chisato. The fading of autumn is, of course, transference from, or at least transferable to, the fading of the flowers. Compare to #172 for another autumnal look back to spring. Despite the rule of thumb that rhetorical questions should always be answered in the negative, I want to respond, "Yes of course you did" -- followed by a muttered baka!(Unexpected historical development: here's a nari-adjective that became a modern i-adjective -- I'd thought they all became na-adjectives.)
ueshi toki
hana machidô ni
arishi kiku
utsurou aki ni
awamu to ya mishi
---L.