あえかなる薔薇撰りをれば春の雷
Aekanaru bara erioreba haru no rai
Choosing the most fragile rose … spring thunder
あえかなる (aekanaru: fragile)
薔薇 (bara: rose) a kind of grass + edible fernI love seeing these back-to-back instances of kusa-kanmuri, the grass radical, 艹. I talked about this compound on page 134 of Crazy for Kanji, marveling that someone referred to these two characters as “rounded.” Huh?!
撰 (e(ru): to choose)
When we see 撰, we tend to associate it with 撰ぶ (erabu). The words 撰ぶ and 撰る (eru) both mean “to choose,” but eru is an older, literary form that never appears in conversation.
I felt utterly baffled by the verb form 撰りをれば (erioreba), not least because it had を (the object o) smack-dab in the middle! But I suspected that Matt Treyvaud would have answers, and he did! His thoughts appear at the link.
春 (haru: spring)
雷 (RAI: thunder)
When this kanji stands alone, one usually uses the kun-yomi kaminari. That word fascinates me because it sounds like the gods (神, kami) are roaring (鳴り, nari). Makes perfect sense when you think of thunder!
