Ume no hana sakite chirinu to hito wa iedo waga shime yuishi e ni arame ya mo

梅の花咲きて散りぬと人は言へど
我が標結ひし枝にあらめやも

Roma-ji: Ume no hana sakite chirinu to hito wa iedo waga shime yuishi e ni arame ya mo
English Translation: Though people tell me
that the plum has bloomed and fallen,
whatever they may say,
could it be the very branch
that I roped off as my own?
Meaning: People say the plum has bloomed and scattered—but could it be the very branch I marked with my rope as mine? Surely not.
Commentary: Book Three Allegorical Poems 400

Headnote: "A poem on the plum by Ōtomo no Sukune Surugamaro"
This poem belongs to the section of Allegorical Poems in Book Three. People say the plum has bloomed and scattered, but he denies that it could be the branch he himself marked with a rope. With the plum as a woman, he trusts that even if rumor says a woman has yielded to another man, she cannot be the one he pledged himself to. Following Fujiwara no Yatsuka's two plum poems, another love poem entrusted to the plum is placed here.
The poet, Ōtomo no Surugamaro, was a Nara-period official said to be a grandson of Ōtomo no Miyuki. He later governed the northeast as Inspector of Mutsu and General of the Pacification Headquarters, and died in Hōki 7 (776).

First line "that the plum" stands for the woman he loves.
Second line "has bloomed and fallen" hints at rumors that she has been won by another.
Third line "whatever they may say": iedo is concessive.
Fourth line "that I roped off as my own" shows that he made a pledge.
Fifth line "could it be the very branch": me is the conditional of mu and ya mo rhetorical, firmly denying it.
Author: Ōtomo no Surugamaro
Source: Manyoshu
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