I Am With the Autumn Mountains

Nukata no Ookimi (a.k.a. Princess Nukata, 630-690 AD)

Winter hides

And spring has come.

The birds that haven’t chirped

Begin to sing

And the closed up flowers

Begin to bloom.

The mountains grow with thicket

And I can join, but do not want to;

The grass grows deep

And I can touch, but do not want to.

In autumn

I see the
mountain trees

And the
leaves change to yellow and red;

I pluck
them and remember.

I take these
green leaves,

But drop
them and lament;

It is a
shame,

But I am
with the autumn mountains.

冬こもり	Winter shut-up/hidden [Winter has passed]
春さり来れば	Spring does come as [Spring has come]
鳴かずありし	Chirp not are [Birds which have not sung for awhile]
鳥も来鳴きぬ	Birds too come sing finished [Birds come out and sing]
咲かずありし	Blossom not are [Flowers not blooming]
花も咲けれど	Flowers too bloom and
山を茂み	Mountains overgrown/thicket
入りても取らず	Enter yet touch not [Can get in but do not want to touch]
草深み	Grass deep
取りても見ず	Touch yet see not [Can touch but do not want to see]
秋山の	Autumn mountain ’s
木の葉を見ては	Tree ’s leaves see
黄葉をば	Yellow leaves [Can also mean red leaves or autumn-colored leaves]
取りてぞ偲ふ	Pick and remember.
青きをば	Green leaves [which had fallen before turning yellow]
置きてぞ嘆く	Put-them-back lament
そこし恨めし	That is shame but
秋山吾は	Autumn mountain I