Hashikiyashi wagie no kemomo moto shigeku hana nomi sakite narazu arame ya mo

はしきやし我家の毛桃本茂く
花のみ咲きてならずあらめやも

Roma-ji: Hashikiyashi wagie no kemomo moto shigeku hana nomi sakite narazu arame ya mo
English Translation: Oh, my dearest one,
the down-peach of my own home,
thick about its roots—
could it flower, and flower only,
and never bear its fruit?
Meaning: Dear down-peach of my own home, thick with growth down to the roots—could you only blossom and never bear fruit? Surely not.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1358

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Trees"
The poet asks whether the down-peach of his own home could only flower and never bear fruit. The beloved is likened to the peach, and its fruit to love fulfilled, expressing confidence that this love will surely come to fruition.
It is one of the poems under the heading "On Trees." The fourth line, "could it flower, and flower only," is the same as in poem 1364 in this book, but where this poem uses a rhetorical question to affirm that fruit will come, poem 1364 fears that it will not, so the two form a pair of confidence and anxiety. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Oh, my dearest one," is an exclamation of affection.
The second line, "the down-peach of my own home," echoes "a peach tree" in poem 1356 in this book.
The third line, "thick about its roots," describes growth thick down to the base.
The fourth line, "could it flower, and flower only," is the same as the fourth line of poem 1364 in this book.
In the final line, "meya mo" is rhetorical: "could it fail to bear fruit? Never." "Naru," to bear fruit, stands for love fulfilled.
Source: Manyoshu
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