Aoigusa teru hi wa kami no kokoro ka wa kage sasu kata ni mazu nabikuran - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

葵草照る日は神の心かは
影さす方にまづなびくらん

Roma-ji: Aoigusa teru hi wa kami no kokoro ka wa kage sasu kata ni mazu nabikuran
English Translation: O heart-leaf plant,
is the shining sun indeed
the gods' own heart,
that you bend first of all
toward where its light is falling?
Meaning: O heart-leaf plant, is the shining sun the very heart of the gods, that you should bend first of all toward where its light falls?
Commentary: Book Three Summer Poems 146

Headnote: "Composed on heart-leaf when presenting a hundred-poem sequence in the reign of Emperor Horikawa"
Composed on "heart-leaf," aoi, for the Horikawa Hundred-Poem Sequence. Seeing the leaves of the aoi bend first toward where the sun shines, the poet asks whether the shining sun is the gods' own heart, so that the plant that serves the gods inclines toward it. Linking the sacred aoi used at the Kamo Festival with its habit of turning to the sun, he entrusts reverence for the gods to the form of a plant.
The author, "Fujiwara no Mototoshi," was the son of Minister of the Right Fujiwara no Toshiie. He was ranked alongside Minamoto no Toshiyori in Emperor Horikawa's poetry circle and was the teacher of Fujiwara no Shunzei, compiler of the Senzai Wakashū. His official career was undistinguished, ending at Junior Fifth Rank, Upper Grade.
This poem and the next, 147, are a pair on the aoi associated with the Kamo Festival.

First line, "aoigusa": the heart-leaf wild ginger hung on caps and blinds at the Kamo Festival. The "hi" of "aoi" echoes "hi," sun, in the second line. The next poem, 147, also treats the aoi.
Second line, "teru hi wa kami no": "is the shining sun the gods'," likening sunlight to the heart of the gods.
Third line, "kokoro ka wa": "ka wa" poses a question: "is it their heart?" The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "kage sasu kata ni": "kage" is sunlight: "toward where the light falls."
Fifth line, "mazu nabikuran": "ran" is present conjecture guessing at a reason: "why do you bend first?" It shows the leaves turning toward the sun.
Author: Fujiwara no Mototoshi
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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Next Poem: Kamiyama no fumoto ni nareshi aoigusa hikiwakarete mo toshi zo henikeru