露の命きえなましかばかくばかり
ふる白雪をながめましやは
Tsuyu no inochi kie namashika ba kaku bakari
furu shirayuki o nagamemashi yawa
If a dew life Had been vanished, Just like that Falling white snow Would I have seen?
Goshirakawa Tenno (1127-1192)
His majesty became seriously ill, and composed this poem in the snow morning. Died in Kyoto. From "Shin kokin waka shu (新古今和歌集)"
7 Dec 2010 大雪