Akihagi no eda mo tōo ni nariyuku wa shiratsuyu omoku okeba narikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

秋萩の枝もとををになりゆくは
白露重く置けばなりけり

Roma-ji: Akihagi no eda mo tōo ni nariyuku wa shiratsuyu omoku okeba narikeri
English Translation: That the bush clover
has its branches bending low,
sagging more and more,
is because the white dew
lies on them so heavily
Meaning: The branches of the autumn bush clover bend lower and lower—it is because the white dew lies on them so heavily.
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 304

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet realizes that the branches of the autumn bush clover bend lower and lower because white dew lies heavily on them. Taking the bending once thought due to the weight of the flowers as the weight of the dew, it conveys the deepening of autumn, when dew lies thick.
Following the dew on the sleeves of the preceding poem, this one sings of dew lying heavy on bush clover branches.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Akihagi no," means "of the autumn bush clover," the same opening as 301 of this book.
In the second line, "tōo ni" describes branches bending and sagging.
The third line, "nariyuku wa," means "that they are becoming so."
The fourth line, "shiratsuyu omoku," means "the white dew heavily," showing how thick the dew lies.
In the last line, "ba" gives the reason and "keri" is a sigh of realization: "it was because it settles so."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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