Taorazute chirinaba oshi to waga omoishi aki no momichi o kazashitsuru kamo

手折らずて散りなば惜しと我が思ひし
秋の黄葉をかざしつるかも

Roma-ji: Taorazute chirinaba oshi to waga omoishi aki no momichi o kazashitsuru kamo
English Translation: Not having picked them,
if they fell, how I would grieve,
so I thought, and now
the leaves of autumn's color
I have set within my hair
Meaning: The autumn leaves I feared would fall before I could pick them: now at last I have set them in my hair.
Commentary: Book Eight Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 1581

Headnote: "Eleven poems from the banquet gathered by Tachibana no Ason Naramaro"
The poet rejoices that he has been able to set in his hair, at the banquet, the autumn leaves he feared would fall before he could pick them. The note says, "The foregoing: on the seventeenth day of the tenth month of winter, a gathering and banquet at the former residence of Lord Tachibana, Minister of the Right," so this is from the banquet Naramaro held at his father Tachibana no Moroe's former house in the tenth month of winter, Tenpyō 10 (738). Eleven banquet poems follow from here.
The author, Tachibana no Naramaro, was a son of Tachibana no Moroe. He later plotted to overthrow Fujiwara no Nakamaro, failed, and was arrested.

The first line means "without picking them."
The second line is a supposition with the perfective "na" and "ba": "it would be a pity if they fell."
The third line, with an extra syllable, means "as I thought."
The fourth line names the autumn leaves to be worn at the banquet.
The final line, with the perfective "tsu" and exclamatory "kamo," expresses the joy of wearing them. 1583 of this book ends with the same line, so the joy of wearing the banquet's autumn leaves is sung again and again.
Author: Tachibana no Naramaro
Source: Manyoshu
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