Ori ni ko to omoi ya suran hanazakura arishi miyuki no haru o koitsutsu - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

折りにこと思ひやすらん花桜
ありし御幸の春を恋ひつつ

Roma-ji: Ori ni ko to omoi ya suran hanazakura arishi miyuki no haru o koitsutsu
English Translation: "Come and break my boughs"—
is that what they think, I wonder,
the cherry blossoms,
as they long for that spring past
when you came here on your progress?
Meaning: Perhaps the cherry blossoms are thinking, "Come and break our branches," as they long for the spring when you once honored us with a visit.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1452

Headnote: "Reply."
This is the second poem of the sequence on the cherry, Fujiwara no Asateru's reply to Retired Emperor En'yū's poem in the preceding poem. The cherry blossoms, he says, must be thinking "come and break us," longing for the spring of the emperor's former visit, and so he asks for the retired emperor's coming.
The author, "Major Captain of the Left Asateru," was the son of Regent Fujiwara no Kanemichi. He lived at the Kan'in mansion and became Major Captain of the Left Palace Guards and Major Counselor.

The first line, "ori ni ko to," means "come to break us," putting the cherry's heart into words. Taking up "yukite oraba ya," the last line of the preceding poem, it answers, "please come and break them."
The second line, "omoi ya suran," closes the kakari-musubi of the particle "ya" with the attributive form "ran." It takes the form of guessing at the cherry's heart.
The third line, "hanazakura," takes up "iezakura" of the preceding poem. The poem breaks after the third line.
The fourth line, "arishi miyuki no," refers to an imperial visit that once took place. It reminds the retired emperor that he had formerly visited this house.
In the last line, "haru o koitsutsu," "tsutsu" expresses continuation: the cherry keeps longing for the spring of the visit. Placing the reason last in inverted order, it shows the wish not for a messenger but for the retired emperor himself to come.
Author: Fujiwara no Asateru
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Kakigoshi ni miru adabito no iezakura hana chiri bakari yukite oraba ya
Next Poem: Yorozuyo o furu ni kai aru yado nareba miyuki to miete hana zo chirikeru