Tsukikusa ni koromo irodori surame domo utsurou iro to iu ga kurushisa

月草に衣色どり摺らめども
うつろふ色と言ふが苦しさ

Roma-ji: Tsukikusa ni koromo irodori surame domo utsurou iro to iu ga kurushisa
English Translation: With dayflower blue
I would color and rub a robe,
and yet, they tell me
it is a shade that fades—
and how that saying pains me
Meaning: I would color a robe by rubbing it with dayflower, but they say its hue soon fades—and that is what pains me.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1339

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Grasses"
The speaker would dye a robe with dayflower, but it pains her that people say its color soon fades. The dayflower stands for a lover whose heart changes easily and dyeing the robe for being joined with him, expressing anxiety that his heart may shift.
It is one of the poems on grasses. Dyeing a robe with dayflower is also sung in poem 1255 in this book, while poem 1351 in this book, on the same dayflower, resolves to rub the robe even if the color fades, forming a pair with the hesitation of this poem. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "With dayflower blue," is the same as the first line of poems 1255 and 1351 in this book.
The second line, "I would color and rub a robe," refers to coloring the garment.
The third line, "and yet," is concessive: "though I would rub it in."
The fourth line, "it is a shade that fades," refers to the fading dye of the dayflower and hints at a changing heart.
The final line, "and how that saying pains me," ends on the noun "kurushisa" (pain).
Source: Manyoshu
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