Ume no hana yoso nagara mimu wagimoko ga togamu bakari no ka ni mo koso shime - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

梅の花よそながら見む我妹子が
とがむばかりの香にもこそしめ

Roma-ji: Ume no hana yoso nagara mimu wagimoko ga togamu bakari no ka ni mo koso shime
English Translation: O blossoms of plum,
I shall view you from afar,
lest my dear wife should
find in me a scent to question,
clinging to my robe so deep
Meaning: I shall gaze at the plum blossoms from a distance, for I would be in trouble if their scent clung to me so strongly that my wife would question it.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 27

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
The poet will view the plum from afar, since if its scent clings to his robe his wife may suspect he has visited another woman. There is humor in linking the strength of plum fragrance to the familiar worry of a wife's jealousy.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "O blossoms of plum," names what he will view.
In the second line, "yoso nagara" means "while keeping apart," and "mu" expresses intention. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "my dear wife," names a woman close to him, here his wife.
The fourth line, "find... a scent to question," means "enough to raise suspicion." Like "would people reproach me" in 31 of this book, it concerns being reproached over a scent.
In the last line, "mo koso" expresses apprehension, "it would be a problem if," and forms a kakarimusubi pattern with the perfective "shime." The idea of plum scent passing into a robe also echoes "will my robe be dyed in the deep fragrance" in 16.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Waga yado no ume no hatsuhana hiru wa yuki yoru wa tsuki to mo miemagau kana
Next Poem: Ume no hana oreba koborenu waga sode ni nioi ka utsuse iezuto ni sen