Hototogisu kinaki toyomeba kusa toramu hanatachibana o yado ni wa uezute

霍公鳥来鳴き響めば草取らむ
花橘を宿には植ゑずて

Roma-ji: Hototogisu kinaki toyomeba kusa toramu hanatachibana o yado ni wa uezute
English Translation: If the little cuckoo
comes and makes its song resound,
I will pull the weeds,
for the flowering tachibana
I have not planted in my garden
Meaning: If the cuckoo comes and fills the air with its song, I will at least pull the weeds, for I have not planted flowering tachibana in my garden.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4172

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The twenty-fourth day falls on the first day of summer, the festival of the fourth month. Therefore, on the evening of the twenty-third, suddenly thinking of the voice of the cuckoo that would sing at dawn, I composed two poems"
The second of the poems imagining the cuckoo's visit on the eve of summer, it says that if the cuckoo comes and fills the air with its song, the poet will clear the weeds from his garden, since he has not planted flowering tachibana there. Because the cuckoo was thought to favor flowering tachibana, the poem is understood to mean that he will at least weed his garden to welcome it, though interpretations differ.
Where the preceding poem expressed anticipation of the first song, this one turns to preparing the garden to receive the bird, conveying his waiting heart more concretely.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Grand Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. From 746 he served as Governor of Etchū, living at the provincial headquarters in what is now Fushiki, Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture. He is regarded as the leading poet of the Nara period and is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.

First line, "hototogisu" (the cuckoo), places the longed-for bird at the head, taking up the third line of the preceding poem.
Second line, "kinaki toyomeba" (if it comes and sings resoundingly): "toyomu" means to make the voice ring out, and "ba" marks a hypothetical condition.
Third line, "kusa toramu" (I will pull the weeds): "mu" expresses intention, showing the plan to weed the garden; the poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "hanatachibana o" (flowering tachibana), names the flowering citrus said to be loved by the cuckoo, which the lower verse says is absent from the garden.
Fifth line, "yado ni wa uezute" (not having planted it in my garden), adds the reason for the third line in inverted order, closing the poem.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Tsunehito mo okitsutsu kiku zo hototogisu kono akatoki ni kinaku hatsukoe
Next Poem: Imo o mizu Koshi no kunihe ni toshi fureba aga kokorodo no naguru hi mo nashi