Aki no ta no homuki no yoreru katayori ni kimi ni yorinana kochitaku ari tomo

秋の田の穂向きの寄れる片寄りに
君に寄りなな言痛くありとも

Roma-ji: Aki no ta no homuki no yoreru katayori ni kimi ni yorinana kochitaku ari tomo
English Translation: As the rice ears lean
in the autumn paddy fields
all to one side,
so would I lean toward you,
though tongues may wag as they will.
Meaning: Just as the ears of rice in the autumn fields all lean to one side, I long to lean wholly toward you, however loudly people may talk.
Commentary: Book Two Love Poems 114

Headnote: "A poem composed by Princess Tajima in longing for Prince Hozumi while she was living in the palace of Prince Takechi"
Like ears of rice all leaning one way in the autumn field, she longs to lean wholly toward Prince Hozumi, however loudly people may gossip.
According to the headnote, Princess Tajima composed this in longing for Prince Hozumi while she lived in the palace of Prince Takechi. Her resolve to step into a forbidden love is entrusted to the simple scene of bending rice.
The author, Princess Tajima, was a daughter of Emperor Tenmu; her mother was Hikami no Iratsume, a daughter of Fujiwara no Kamatari. She lived in the palace of her half-brother Prince Takechi, yet fell in love with another half-brother, Prince Hozumi.

The first line, "aki no ta no," is the same as the first line of 88 by Empress Iwa no Hime in this book, and the two correspond as well in entrusting love to the ears of rice.
The second line, "homuki no yoreru," means "the ears of rice bending in one direction."
The preface runs through the third line, "katayori ni," and from leaning wholly to one side leads to yoru, "to draw near."
In the fourth line, "kimi ni yorinana," nana expresses a wish: I want to lean toward you. The poem pauses here, and the repetition of yoreru, katayori, and yori intensifies her feeling.
In the final line, "kochitaku ari tomo," kochitashi means gossip is loud and tomo is a concessive: even if tongues wag. By inversion the poem ends on her resolve.
Author: Princess Tajima
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Miyoshino no tamamatsu ga e wa hashiki kamo kimi ga mikoto o mochite kayowaku
Next Poem: Okureite koitsutsu arazu wa oishikamu michi no kumami ni shime yue waga se