"O thou cuckoo
Of the ancient capital
Of Iso no Kami! [Nara]
Thy voice alone
Is all that is left of the olden time."
Tsurayuki, having met with a cool reception at his native place, plucks a branch of flowering plum, and exclaims—
"Its people? Ah well!
I know not their hearts,
But in my native place
The flowers with their ancient
Fragrance are odorous."
"The hue of the flowers
Mingles with the snow,
So that it cannot be seen;
But their presence may be known
Were it only by the perfume."
"I came and found thee not:
Wetter far is my sleeve
Than if I had threaded my way at morn
Through the bamboo-grass
Of the autumn plain."
"This night of spring,
Of formless gloom,
The colour of the plum-flowers
Cannot, indeed, be seen;
But how can their perfume be hidden?"
"What is it that makes me feel so desolate
This evening
While I wait
For one who comes not?
Can it be the blowing of the [chill] autumn wind?"
"I would that thy heart
Were melted unto me,
As when spring comes
The ice thaws away
And leaves no remainder."
