classic waka stream

青柳梅との花を折りかざし
飲みての後は散りぬともよし
Roma-ji

Aoyagi ume to no hana o orikazashi nomite no nochi wa chirinu tomo yoshi

English Translation
Green willow sprigs
and the blossoms of the plum
broken off and worn —
once we have drunk our fill, then
let them scatter, all is well
Meaning
Let us break off green willow and plum blossoms and wear them in our hair; once we have drunk, they may scatter for all I care.
Commentary
Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 821

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thirty-two poems on plum blossoms, with preface"
The poet says that once they have worn willow and plum and drunk their fill, the blossoms may fall. Unlike the other poems that regret the falling flowers, it declares with bold abandon that enjoying the feast to the full in this moment is enough, and it must have delighted the company.
This is one of the thirty-two poems of the Plum Blossom Banquet, held on the thirteenth day of the first month of Tenpyō 2, when officials of Dazaifu and provincial governors of Kyushu gathered at the residence of the Governor-General Ōtomo no Tabito and composed poems on the plum trees in his garden. The Chinese preface describes how, in the auspicious first month of early spring, the air was fine and the breeze gentle, the plums opened white like face powder before a mirror, and the orchids gave off a scent like a perfume sachet; it is also famous as the source of the era name Reiwa. The preface closes by proposing that, just as Chinese poetry has its pieces on falling plum blossoms, the company should compose short poems on the garden plums. The poem is signed "The monk Kasa."
The poet, the monk Mansei, was known in lay life as Kasa no Maro; after serving as Governor of Mino and in other posts, he took the tonsure. At this time he was at Dazaifu as director of the construction of Kanzeon-ji in Tsukushi.

First line, "aoyagi": the fresh willow, taken up alongside the plum as if in answer to the "green willow" of 817.
Second line, "ume to no hana o": "the willow and the plum blossoms," joining two spring sights as adornments.
Third line, "orikazashi": breaking off sprigs to wear in the hair, a gesture of banquet elegance.
Fourth line, "nomite no nochi wa": "after we have drunk," frankly naming the drinking at the feast.
Fifth line, "chirinu tomo yoshi": "let them fall, it is fine," in contrast to the many poems that mourn the falling, showing contentment with present joy.
Author
The Novice Mansei
Source
Manyoshu
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