Shirotae no koromo katashiki ominaeshi sakeru nobe ni zo koyoi nenikeru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

白妙の衣かたしき女郎花
咲ける野辺にぞ今宵寝にける

Roma-ji: Shirotae no koromo katashiki ominaeshi sakeru nobe ni zo koyoi nenikeru
English Translation: My robe of white cloth,
spreading just one sleeve to sleep,
where the maiden flowers
bloom across the open fields,
there tonight I lay me down
Meaning: Spreading a single sleeve of my white robe, tonight I slept in the fields where the maiden flowers bloom.
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 342

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that spreading a single sleeve of his white robe, he slept tonight in the fields where the maiden flowers bloom. Sleeping alone in fields of maiden flowers, likened to women, he layers elegance with the loneliness of sleeping alone.
342 and 343 of this book are two poems on the maiden flower by Ki no Tsurayuki, set side by side.
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, "Shirotae no," meaning white cloth, is a pillow word attached to "koromo," robe.
In the second line, "katashiku" means to spread only one sleeve of one's own robe to sleep on, that is, to sleep alone.
The third line, "ominaeshi," means "the maiden flowers," modifying "sakeru nobe," the fields where they bloom.
In the fourth line, "ru" is the attributive form of the continuative auxiliary "ri": "in the fields where they bloom." "Zo" is an emphatic particle. 345 of this book also sings of sleeping in fields of maiden flowers in "aki no no ni yoru mo ya nenan."
The last line, "koyoi nenikeru," means "tonight I have slept," with "zo" in the fourth line and the attributive "keru" forming a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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