Suminoe no hamamatsu ga ne no shitabaete waga miru ono no kusa na kari so ne

住吉の浜松が根の下延へて
我が見る小野の草な刈りそね

Roma-ji: Suminoe no hamamatsu ga ne no shitabaete waga miru ono no kusa na kari so ne
English Translation: As the beach pine's roots
at Suminoe spread unseen
beneath the earth, so
I secretly love this field:
do not cut its grasses, please
Meaning: As the roots of the beach pines at Suminoe spread hidden underground, so I secretly cherish this little field; please do not cut its grass.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4457

Headnote: "On the twenty-fourth day, the year of the fire monkey, Tenpyō Shōhō 8, second month, the Retired Emperor and the Empress Dowager made an excursion to the detached palace in Kawachi, and after some days moved on to the Naniwa palace. On the seventh day of the third month, a banquet at the house of Uma no Kunihito in Kure village, Kawachi Province; three poems."
As the roots of the beach pines at Suminoe spread unseen, so I secretly cherish this field; please do not cut its grass: the poem praises the field of the host's house. According to the headnote, in the second month of Tenpyō Shōhō 8 (756), Retired Emperor Shōmu and Empress Dowager Kōmyō visited the detached palace in Kawachi and after some days moved to the Naniwa palace. In attendance there, Yakamochi composed this at a banquet held on the seventh of the third month at the house of Uma no Kunihito in Kure village. The left note attributes it to Ōtomo no Yakamochi, Junior Assistant Minister of Military Affairs. It can also be read as likening the host's family to the "grass," expressing secret affection in the manner of a love poem.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, son of Ōtomo no Tabito, was at this time Junior Assistant Minister of Military Affairs.

The first line, "Suminoe no," names Suminoe in Settsu, read Suminoe.
The second line, "hamamatsu ga ne no," "the roots of the beach pines": the first two lines form a preface leading to shitabaete.
The third line, "shitabaete," "spreading underground," turns to mean "loving in secret."
The fourth line, "waga miru ono no," "the field I gaze on," refers to the field of the host's house.
The closing line, "kusa na kari so ne," uses na...so for prohibition and ne for wishing: please do not cut its grass.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Masurao to omoeru mono o tachi hakite Kaniwa no tai ni seri zo tsumikeru
Next Poem: Nihodori no Okinagagawa wa taenu tomo kimi ni kataramu koto tsukime ya mo