Sakideteru ume no shizue ni oku tsuyu no kenubeku imo ni kouru kono koro

咲き出照る梅の下枝に置く露の
消ぬべく妹に恋ふるこのころ

Roma-ji: Sakideteru ume no shizue ni oku tsuyu no kenubeku imo ni kouru kono koro
English Translation: Blooming, shining bright,
on the plum tree's lower boughs
the dewdrops that lie—
like to vanish, so I long
for my darling, these days now.
Meaning: Like the dew on the lower branches of the plum that has burst into shining bloom, I long for my beloved these days until I feel I might vanish.
Commentary: Book Ten Winter Love Poems 2335

Headnote: "Love Expressed Through Dew"
This poem sings of these days of longing for the beloved until the speaker feels about to vanish, like dew on the lower branches of plum blooming brightly. Its headnote is "Love Expressed Through Dew." Like 2330 in the winter miscellaneous poems, it sings of dew on the plum's lower branches; whereas there one got wet picking plum for the beloved, here the dew is a figure for a heart about to fade.

The first line, "blooming and shining," is hypermetric.
In the second line, "ume no shizue ni," "shizue" means the lower branches.
The third line, "like the dew that lies," with the upper lines forming a preface leading into "ke."
The fourth line, "about to vanish, for my beloved," names the feeling.
The last line, "these days I long," ends on a noun.
Source: Manyoshu
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