Imo ga tame hotsue no ume o taoru to wa shizue no tsuyu ni nurenikeru ka mo

妹がためほつ枝の梅を手折るとは
下枝の露に濡れにけるかも

Roma-ji: Imo ga tame hotsue no ume o taoru to wa shizue no tsuyu ni nurenikeru ka mo
English Translation: For my darling's sake
breaking plum from topmost boughs,
reaching up for them,
in the dew of lower boughs
I have gotten drenched, alas!
Meaning: Reaching to break the plum on the upper branches for my beloved, I got soaked by the dew of the lower branches.
Commentary: Book Ten Winter Miscellaneous Poems 2330

Headnote: "On Dew"
This poem tells how, trying to break plum from the upper branches for the beloved, the speaker got soaked by the dew of the lower branches. Its headnote is "On Dew." A heart willing to take trouble for the beloved shows in the image of being wet with dew. Like 1839 in the spring poems, where the hem was soaked while gathering egu for "you," it sings of getting wet for a loved one's sake.

The first line, "for my beloved," gives the purpose.
In the second line, "hotsue no ume o," "hotsue" means the upper branches.
The third line, "in breaking them," names the act.
In the fourth line, "shizue no tsuyu ni," "shizue" means the lower branches, paired with "hotsue" in the second line.
In the last line, "nurenikeru ka mo," "keri" and "ka mo" are exclamatory.
Source: Manyoshu
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