Unohana o kutasu nagame no mizuhana ni yoru kotsumi nasu yoramu ko mogamo

卯の花を腐す長雨の始水に
寄る木屑なす寄らむ子もがも

Roma-ji: Unohana o kutasu nagame no mizuhana ni yoru kotsumi nasu yoramu ko mogamo
English Translation: The deutzia blossoms
the long rains have left to rot—
on the swelling flood,
like the drifting bits of wood,
would there were a girl to draw near
Meaning: Like the bits of wood that drift in on the leading edge of a flood swollen by rains so long they rot the deutzia, if only there were a girl who would drift close to me.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4217

Headnote: "A poem composed on a day when the long rains cleared"
Composed on a day when long rains had cleared, it wishes for a girl who would draw close to the poet, just as bits of wood drift in on the leading edge of water swollen by rains so long they rot the deutzia flowers. As if to dispel the gloom of the rainy season, it voices a half-playful wish for love.
Using the humble image of debris drifting at the front of floodwater as a simile is original, and the poem carries a real sense of the rainy season in Etchū. The left note says, "The above two poems, fifth month."
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, "unohana o" (the deutzia blossoms), names the white early-summer flower, fixing the season.
Second line, "kutasu nagame no" (of the long rain that rots): "kutasu" means to cause to rot, showing how heavy the rain is.
Third line, "mizuhana ni" (on the front of the flood), refers to the leading edge of rising water.
Fourth line, "yoru kotsumi nasu" (like debris drifting in): "kotsumi" is wood scraps and rubbish, and "nasu" means "like"; up to here forms a simile pivoting on "yoru" (draw near).
Fifth line, "yoramu ko mogamo" (if only there were a girl who would draw near): "mogamo" expresses a wish, repeating "yoru" from the fourth line.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Yo no naka no tsune naki koto wa shiruramu o kokoro tsukusu na masurao ni shite
Next Poem: Shibi tsuku to ama no tomoseru isaribi no ho ni ka idasamu waga shitamoi o