Hatsusegawa shirayūbana ni ochitagitsu se o sayakemi to mi ni koshi ware o

泊瀬川白木綿花に落ちたぎつ
瀬をさやけみと見に来し我れを

Roma-ji: Hatsusegawa shirayūbana ni ochitagitsu se o sayakemi to mi ni koshi ware o
English Translation: The Hatsuse River,
like white flowers of bark-cloth
foaming as it falls—
its rapids are so clear, they said,
and so I came to see them
Meaning: I am the one who came to see the Hatsuse River's rapids, pouring down in white foam like flowers of bark-cloth, because they were said to be so clear.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1107

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Rivers"
The poet tells how he came all the way to see the pure rapids of the Hatsuse River, falling in white foam like flowers of bark-cloth. The closing "ware o" (I, who came) holds his quiet satisfaction at having made the trip.
In the group on rivers, the Hatsuse River follows the poems on the Yoshino. The next poem also sings of the Hatsuse River, and the two form a pair. The poet is unknown.

The first line names the Hatsuse River, which flows through Hatsuse in Yamato.
The second line likens white bark-cloth made from paper-mulberry fiber to flowers, a figure for the white spray of foaming water.
The third line, "foaming as it falls," means rushing down and seething.
The fourth line, "its rapids are so clear, they said," adds "to" (thinking that) to the "-mi" form: "because the shallows are clear."
In the final line, "and so I came to see them," "o" may be read as exclamatory or concessive, leaving the feeling of having come to see as a lingering overtone. Poem 1187 in this book ends with the same line.
Source: Manyoshu
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