Akihagi o chirisuginubemi taorimochi miredomo sabushi kimi ni shi araneba

秋萩を散り過ぎぬべみ手折り持ち
見れども寂し君にしあらねば

Roma-ji: Akihagi o chirisuginubemi taorimochi miredomo sabushi kimi ni shi araneba
English Translation: Autumn bush clover,
since it soon would scatter all,
breaking it, I hold,
and though I gaze, I'm lonely,
for it is not you, my love.
Meaning: Fearing the autumn bush clover would soon scatter, I broke a sprig and hold it—but though I gaze at it, I am lonely, for it is not you.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Love Poems 2290

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love Expressed Through Flowers"
This poem sings of breaking off bush clover about to scatter and gazing at it, yet feeling lonely because it is not the beloved. It frankly expresses that even beautiful bush clover cannot take the beloved's place. Against the clover that fell weary of waiting for the beloved in the preceding poem, this one sings of loneliness unfilled even by gazing at clover picked before it fell.

The first line, "the autumn bush clover," names the plant.
In the second line, "chirisuginubemi," "bemi" is the stem of "beshi" with causal "mi": since it will likely scatter. The line is hypermetric.
The third line, "breaking and holding it," names the act.
In the fourth line, "miredomo sabushi," "domo" is adversative: though I look, I am lonely. The poem breaks here.
In the last line, "kimi ni shi araneba," "shi" is emphatic and "ne" the perfective of the negative: since it is not you.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Fujiwara no furinishi sato no akihagi wa sakite chiriniki kimi machikanete
Next Poem: Ashita saki yūbe wa kenuru tsukikusa no kenubeki koi mo are wa suru ka mo