Kaerikite mimu to omoishi waga yado no akihagi susuki chirinikemu kamo

帰り来て見むと思ひし我が宿の
秋萩すすき散りにけむかも

Roma-ji: Kaerikite mimu to omoishi waga yado no akihagi susuki chirinikemu kamo
English Translation: I thought I would see them
when I came back home,
in my garden there
the autumn clover and pampas,
have they scattered by now
Meaning: The autumn bush clover and pampas grass in my garden, which I thought to see when I came home: have they already scattered?
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3681

Headnote: "Seven poems composed on the night the ship anchored at Komashima Lodge in Matsura District, Hizen Province, each man gazing far over the waves and grieving in his traveling heart"
He wonders whether the autumn bush clover and pampas grass in his garden, which he had meant to see on his return, have already scattered. In his lament that the garden flowers he looked forward to on returning in autumn are scattering while he cannot go home lies his impatience at the delay in returning. A left note reads "the above poem is by Hata no Tamaro."
The author, Hata no Tamaro, was a member of the embassy to Silla, but nothing further is known of his rank or office.
According to the headnote, this is one of seven poems composed on the night the ship anchored at Komashima Lodge in Matsura District, Hizen Province, each gazing far over the waves and expressing the grief of travel. Komashima is thought to be Kashiwajima Island in present-day Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, a harbor before the crossing to Iki.

First line, "kaerikite": having come home from the journey.
Second line, "mimu to omoishi": "mu" is intention and "shi" the attributive of the past "ki": which I had thought to see.
Third line, "waga yado no": "yado" is one's house or garden, here his home garden in the capital.
Fourth line, "akihagi susuki": bush clover and pampas grass that adorn autumn fields and gardens, the flowers he was to gaze on upon returning in autumn.
Fifth line, "chirinikemu kamo": "ni" is perfective, "kemu" past conjecture, and "kamo" an exclamation with a question: have they already scattered, the poem ends.
Author: Hata no Tamaro
Source: Manyoshu
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