Akane sasu hiru wa tatabite nubatama no yoru no itoma ni tsumeru seri kore

あかねさす昼は田賜びてぬばたまの
夜のいとまに摘める芹これ

Roma-ji: Akane sasu hiru wa tatabite nubatama no yoru no itoma ni tsumeru seri kore
English Translation: In the madder-bright
daylight hours I portioned out
the fields to the folk;
in the leisure of the night,
pitch-dark, I picked this parsley
Meaning: By day I was busy giving out the rice fields; this parsley I picked in a spare hour of the night.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4455

Headnote: "A poem sent by the envoy Prince Katsuragi from Yamashiro Province to Lady Satsu no Myōkan and others at the time of the land allotment in Tenpyō 1," with a note: "Attached to a bundle of parsley."
By day I portioned out the fields; this is parsley I picked in a spare hour of the night: a poem sent with parsley to the court ladies. According to the headnote, during the land allotment of Tenpyō 1 (729), Prince Katsuragi, sent to Yamashiro as an allotment envoy, sent it with a bundle of parsley to Lady Satsu no Myōkan and others. The left note says that this and the next poem were recited by the Minister of the Left, who was this Prince Katsuragi, later granted the surname Tachibana. Saying it was gathered between busy duties, he puts his heart into the gift.
The author, Tachibana no Moroe, formerly Prince Katsuragi, was a descendant of Emperor Bidatsu. At this time he was serving in Yamashiro as an allotment envoy.

The first line, "akane sasu," is a pillow word for "day."
The second line, "hiru wa tatabite," "by day giving out fields," refers to his allotment duties.
The third line, "nubatama no," a pillow word for "night," pairs with akane sasu in the first line, setting day and night side by side.
The fourth line, "yoru no itoma ni," "in the night's spare time," shows a moment between duties.
The closing line, "tsumeru seri kore," "the parsley I picked, this," breaks off on a noun with the gesture of holding out the gift. Like "yamazuto zo kore" at the close of this book's opening poem, it ends by pointing to the object.
Author: Tachibana no Moroe
Source: Manyoshu
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