Akihagi no irozuku aki o itazura ni amata kazoete oi zo shinikeru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

秋萩の色づく秋をいたづらに
あまた数へて老いぞしにける

Roma-ji: Akihagi no irozuku aki o itazura ni amata kazoete oi zo shinikeru
English Translation: The autumns when
the bush clover takes its color,
uselessly, in vain,
I have counted so many
that now I have grown old
Meaning: So many autumns of the bush clover's coloring have I counted, all to no purpose, that now I have grown old.
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 301

Headnote: "On an occasion when people were talking of how the years had piled up."
The poet laments that he has counted many autumns when the bush clover takes its color, accomplishing nothing, and has grown old. Making the yearly autumn of the coloring bush clover a mark for counting the years gone by, he grieves over his age.
According to the headnote, it was composed when people were talking this way and that about having grown old. Following the poems delighting in bush clover flowers, this poem takes the bush clover's autumn as a measure of the years.
The poet, called "Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki. A son of Ki no Mochiyuki, he was the leading compiler of the Kokin Wakashū and wrote its kana preface. He served as governor of Tosa among other posts, is known as the author of the Tosa Diary, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

The first line, "Akihagi no," means "the autumn bush clover," taking up the bush clover poems before it.
The second line, "irozuku aki o," means "the autumns when it colors," pointing to the season when the leaves and flowers of the bush clover take on color.
The third line, "itazura ni," means "in vain, doing nothing." Where "itazura ni nomi" in the second line of 290 sang of passing a single night in vain, this poem sings of piling up years in vain.
The fourth line, "amata kazoete," means "counting many," showing the number of autumns gone by.
The last line, "oi zo shinikeru," means "I have grown old," with the particle "zo" and the attributive "keru" forming a kakarimusubi pattern. 347 of this book also laments growing old on seeing the maiden flower in bloom.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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