Aki no ta no homuki no yoreru katayori ni ware wa mono omou tsurenaki mono o

秋の田の穂向きの寄れる片寄りに
我れは物思ふつれなきものを

Roma-ji: Aki no ta no homuki no yoreru katayori ni ware wa mono omou tsurenaki mono o
English Translation: In the autumn fields
as the ears of rice lean close
leaning to one side,
so I brood on you alone,
though you are so cold to me.
Meaning: Like the ears of rice in the autumn fields leaning all to one side, I brood on you alone—though you are so cold to me.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Love Poems 2247

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love Expressed Through the Paddy Fields"
This poem sings of one-sided love, brooding single-mindedly on an unresponsive person as the ears of rice in the autumn fields lean all one way. It overlays the one-sided inclination of love on the leaning of the rice ears, expressing the ache of unrewarded longing. Like 2242, where the heart leaned to the beloved as pampas plumes bend, it likens the bending of grain to the heart's inclination.

The first line, "of the autumn fields," names the place.
The second line, "where the ears lean," describes the rice.
The third line, "leaning to one side," makes the upper lines a figure for one-sided love.
The fourth line, "I brood," breaks the poem after the fourth line.
In the last line, "tsurenaki mono o," "mono o" is adversative and exclamatory: though you are cold.
Source: Manyoshu
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