Ume no hana ware wa chirasaji aoniyoshi nara naru hito mo kitsutsu miru gane

梅の花我れは散らさじあをによし
奈良なる人も来つつ見るがね

Roma-ji: Ume no hana ware wa chirasaji aoniyoshi nara naru hito mo kitsutsu miru gane
English Translation: Blossoms of the plum,
I will not let them scatter;
blue-earth-fair Nara—
so the one who dwells there too
may come and look at them oft.
Meaning: I will not let the plum blossoms fall—so that the one who lives in Nara, the city of fine blue earth, may come and see them again and again.
Commentary: Book Ten Spring Love Poems 1906

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love Expressed Through Flowers"
This poem resolves not to let the plum blossoms scatter, since the beloved in Nara may come to see them. Guarding the plum blossoms is bound to the heart that awaits the beloved's visit. It shows the same heart that guards flowers as 1858, which longs to rope off the plum blossoms to protect them.

The first line, "plum blossoms," names what is to be guarded.
In the second line, "ware wa chirasaji," "ji" expresses negative intention, the resolve not to let them fall. The poem breaks here.
The third line, "aoniyoshi," is a pillow word attached to "Nara."
The fourth line, "the one in Nara too," refers to the beloved in the capital.
In the last line, "kitsutsu miru gane," "gane" is a particle of purpose: so that they may come and see. It closes in anticipation of the beloved's visit.
Source: Manyoshu
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