Ume no hana chiramaku oshimi wa ga sono no take no hayashi ni uguisu naku mo

梅の花散らまく惜しみ我が園の
竹の林に鴬鳴くも

Roma-ji: Ume no hana chiramaku oshimi wa ga sono no take no hayashi ni uguisu naku mo
English Translation: The plum blossoms' fall
is what it grieves to think of;
in my garden here,
among the groves of bamboo,
the warbler is singing
Meaning: Grieving that the plum blossoms will scatter, a warbler sings in the bamboo grove of my garden.
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 824

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thirty-two poems on plum blossoms, with preface"
The poet says a warbler sings in the garden's bamboo grove, grieving that the plums will fall. Using the classic spring pairing of plum and warbler, he overlays the bird's song with the company's regret at the falling blossoms.
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 "Junior Inspector A-shi Okishima"; the Junior Inspector ranked below the Senior, and whether the single character "A" stands for the Abe, Ato, or Azumi clan is unsettled.
The poet, Ashi no Okishima, was an official serving as Junior Inspector of Dazaifu.

First line, "ume no hana": sets out the theme of the banquet.
Second line, "chiramaku oshimi": "chiramaku" means "that they will fall," and "oshimi" "grieving at it." Poem 842 places the same phrase as its last line, reversing the order.
Third line, "wa ga sono no": the garden where the banquet is held.
Fourth line, "take no hayashi ni": the bamboo grove of the garden, where the warbler hides, set against the plum tree.
Fifth line, "uguisu naku mo": "mo" exclaims, closing as the warbler's voice is heard. Poem 842 contains the same line.
Author: Ashi no Okishima
Source: Manyoshu
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