Ogurayama mine tachinarashi naku shika no henikeru aki o shiru hito no naki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

小倉山峰立ちならし鳴く鹿の
経にける秋を知る人のなき

Roma-ji: Ogurayama mine tachinarashi naku shika no henikeru aki o shiru hito no naki
English Translation: On Mount Ogura,
making paths across the peak,
now the stag cries out;
how many autumns he has passed,
no one is there who knows.
Meaning: No one knows how many autumns the stag has passed, crying as he treads the peaks of Mount Ogura.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Autumn Poems 1102

Headnote: "Placing the word "ominaeshi" at the heads of the lines"
The poet says that no one knows how many autumns the stag, crying as he roams the peaks of Mount Ogura, has passed. The headnote shows it is an acrostic poem, placing the five syllables of "ominaeshi" one by one at the head of each line. Joining the initial syllables "o," "mi," "na," "e," and "shi" gives "ominaeshi," the maidenflower, so after the series of maidenflower poems a poem of craft that hides the flower's name in its lines is placed.
The final line of the main text reads "shiru hito no naki," which does not match "shiru hito zo naki" in the reading line. Here the main text is followed.
The author, written as "Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki, the leading compiler of the Kokinshū, who wrote its kana preface and the Tosa Diary. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "Ogurayama," Mount Ogura, a famous place in Yamashiro province, places "o" of "Ogurayama" at the head of the line. It shares the same word with the first line of 1128 in this book, "Ogurayama."
Second line, "mine tachinarashi," means "treading the peak again and again," placing "mi" at the head of the line.
Third line, "naku shika no," means "the crying stag," placing "na" at the head of the line.
Fourth line, "henikeru aki o," means "the autumns he has passed," placing "he," read "e," at the head of the line. "Ni" is perfective and "keru" a past auxiliary.
Final line, "shiru hito no naki," means "there is no one who knows," placing "shi" at the head of the line and completing "ominaeshi" across the heads of the five lines.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Iezuto ni amata no hana mo orubeki ni netaku mo taka o suetekeru kana
Next Poem: Kochō ni mo nitaru mono kana hanasusuki koishiki hito ni misubekarikeri