Shiratsuyu no okamaku oshimi akihagi o ori nomi orite oki ya karasamu

白露の置かまく惜しみ秋萩を
折りのみ折りて置きや枯らさむ

Roma-ji: Shiratsuyu no okamaku oshimi akihagi o ori nomi orite oki ya karasamu
English Translation: Grieving lest white dew
settle down and do them harm,
autumn bush clover
I have picked and picked, and yet
will I leave them there to wither?
Meaning: Grieving that the white dew will settle on them, I break off sprig after sprig of autumn bush clover—will I only leave them to wither?
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2099

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Flowers"
This poem laughs at itself: grieving that white dew will settle and harm the bush clover, the speaker breaks off sprig after sprig and may end up leaving them to wither. The paradox of an act of love for flowers ending up harming them shows deep attachment to the bush clover. It shares the paradoxical affection of 1871 in the spring poems, which wished the plum would not bloom lest it fall.

The first line, "of the white dew," names what is feared.
In the second line, "okamaku oshimi," "maku" is the nominalized "mu": grieving that dew will settle.
The third line, "the autumn bush clover," names the flower.
The fourth line, "ori nomi orite," breaking and breaking, shows repeated plucking.
In the last line, "oki ya karasamu," "ya" is an interrogative particle in kakari-musubi with the attributive "mu," closing wryly: will I leave them to wither?
Source: Manyoshu
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