Sakurabana toki wa sugine do miru hito no kouru sakari to ima shi chiruramu

桜花時は過ぎねど見る人の
恋ふる盛りと今し散るらむ

Roma-ji: Sakurabana toki wa sugine do miru hito no kouru sakari to ima shi chiruramu
English Translation: Blossoms of cherry—
though their time has not yet passed,
while those who see them
still long for them at their height,
now it is they scatter down.
Meaning: Though the cherry blossoms' season has not yet passed, they must be scattering now because this is the height when those who see them love them most.
Commentary: Book Ten Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1855

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Flowers"
Seeing cherry blossoms falling before their time, the poet surmises that they are scattering while they are still at the height of being loved by those who see them. The poem attributes will to the falling blossoms and finds in them a grace that withdraws while still regretted, a sensibility that anticipates later views of the cherry. The cherry awaited in the preceding poem has here already begun to scatter, moving time forward within the flower group.

The first line, "cherry blossoms," names the flower awaited in the preceding poem, as the leading flower of the group shifts from plum to cherry.
In the second line, "toki wa sugine do," "ne" is the perfective form of the negative "zu" and "do" marks contrast: though their time has not passed.
The third line, "of those who see them," supplies the subject of "long for."
The fourth line, "at the height of their longing," imagines the cherry's heart, as though it chose the moment when it is most missed.
In the last line, "ima shi chiruramu," "shi" is emphatic and "ramu" expresses conjecture about the cause of a present event, closing by surmising why the blossoms fall before one's eyes.
Source: Manyoshu
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