Iezuto ni amata no hana mo orubeki ni netaku mo taka o suetekeru kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

家づとにあまたの花も折るべきに
ねたくも鷹を据ゑてけるかな

Roma-ji: Iezuto ni amata no hana mo orubeki ni netaku mo taka o suetekeru kana
English Translation: As gifts to bring home,
I might well pluck many blooms
of these flowers here,
but how vexing, on my fist
I have set a hawk instead.
Meaning: I might pick many flowers to take home as a gift, but how vexing it is that I have a hawk set upon my fist.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Autumn Poems 1101

Headnote: "For a screen of Retired Emperor En'yū: a man with a hawk on his fist in autumn fields where flowers of many colors bloom wild"
The poet says that he might pick many flowers to take home as a gift, but to his vexation he has a hawk set on his fist and cannot pick them. The headnote shows it was written for a screen painting from the reign of Emperor En'yū, depicting a man with a hawk on his fist in autumn fields where flowers of many colors bloom wild. Taking the place of the falconer in the painting, it tells of his regret at being unable to pick the flowers.
The author is Taira no Kanemori, a descendant of Emperor Kōkō who left the imperial family to receive the surname Taira and served as governor of Suruga, among other posts. He is known for his contest with Mibu no Tadami at the Tentoku Palace Poetry Contest and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "iezuto ni," means "as a gift to take home."
Second line, "amata no hana mo," means "many flowers," sharing the many-colored flowers of the autumn fields with the second line of 1099 in this book, "hana no iroiro."
Third line, "orubeki ni," means "I might pick, and yet," with "ni" a concessive particle.
Fourth line, "netaku mo taka o," means "vexingly, a hawk," with "netashi" meaning galling, vexing.
Final line, "suetekeru kana," means "I have set it on my fist," with "te" a perfective auxiliary, "keru" an auxiliary of exclamation, and "kana" a particle of exclamation. It shares the word "suu" with the third line of 1099 in this book, "torisuete," so that the one who gathers flowers pairs with the one who, with a hawk set on his fist, cannot.
Author: Taira no Kanemori
Source: Shui Wakashu
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