Mi wa tometsu kokoro wa okuru yamazakura kaze no tayori ni omoi okose yo - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

身はとめつ心は送る山桜
風のたよりに思ひおこせよ

Roma-ji: Mi wa tometsu kokoro wa okuru yamazakura kaze no tayori ni omoi okose yo
English Translation: My body stays here,
but my heart I send to you,
O mountain cherries—
by the winds that come my way,
send your thoughts back here to me.
Meaning: My body has stayed behind, but I send my heart to you, mountain cherries—on the passing wind, send your thoughts back to me.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1472

Headnote: "Sent when I stayed behind because of a prior engagement, though invited by various people who were going to view the blossoms in the Eastern Hills."
This is the twenty-second and last poem of the sequence on the cherry. His body has stayed behind, the poet says, but he sends his heart, and asks the mountain cherries to send their thoughts back on the wind. According to the headnote, he was invited by various people going to view the blossoms in the Eastern Hills, but stayed behind because of a prior engagement and sent this poem.
The author, "Anpō Hōshi," was a great-grandson of Minister of the Left Minamoto no Tōru, with the lay name Minamoto no Shitagau. After taking the tonsure, he lived at the Kawara-in, Tōru's former mansion.
The Eastern Hills are the range of hills east of the capital.

The first line, "mi wa tometsu," uses the perfective "tsu" to mean "my body I have kept here," and the poem breaks after the first line. It briefly states the circumstances that kept him from the outing.
The second line, "kokoro wa okuru," pairs with "mi wa" of the first line: though the body stays, the heart is sent to the blossoms. The poem breaks after the second line.
The third line, "yamazakura," addresses the mountain cherries of the Eastern Hills.
The fourth line, "kaze no tayori ni," means "by way of the wind," or "entrusted to the wind." The wind that scatters the blossoms is turned into a bearer of messages.
The last line, "omoi okose yo," means "send your thoughts to me." Whereas the preceding poem likened a self with nowhere to go to the scattering blossoms, this poem sends the heart to the blossoms and asks for their thoughts in return, closing the sequence.
Author: Anpō
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Yo no naka o omoeba nabete chiru hana no waga mi o sate mo izuchi ka mo sen
Next Poem: Sakuraasa no Ofu no uranami tachikaeri miredomo akazu yamanashi no hana