Ume no hana shidariyanagi ni orimajie hana ni sonaeba kimi ni awamu ka mo

梅の花しだり柳に折り交へ
花に供へば君に逢はむかも

Roma-ji: Ume no hana shidariyanagi ni orimajie hana ni sonaeba kimi ni awamu ka mo
English Translation: Blossoms of the plum
with the drooping willow boughs
breaking, interwoven,
if I offer them as flowers,
might I then come to meet you?
Meaning: If I break plum blossoms and weave them in with the drooping willow, offering them as flowers, might I then be able to meet you?
Commentary: Book Ten Spring Love Poems 1904

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love Expressed Through Flowers"
This poem wonders whether offering plum blossoms woven into weeping-willow branches to the gods might bring a meeting with the beloved. A simple faith that makes a wish through an offering of flowers is joined to the urgent desire to meet. Plum and willow, two emblems of spring sung in the miscellaneous poems, here become offerings for a lover's prayer.

The first line, "plum blossoms," names the flowers to be offered.
The second line, "with the drooping willow," names the weeping willow.
The third line, "breaking and interweaving," shows plum and willow arranged together.
In the fourth line, "hana ni sonaeba," "ba" marks a supposition: if I offer them as flowers, taken to mean an offering to gods or buddhas.
In the last line, "kimi ni awamu ka mo," "mu" is conjecture and "ka mo" a question tinged with exclamation, closing with hope that the wish may be granted.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Waga seko ni aga kouraku wa okuyama no ashibi no hana no ima sakari nari
Next Poem: Ominaeshi sakino ni ouru shiratsutsuji shiranu koto mochi iwaeshi waga se