Furusato ni tou hito araba momijiba no chirinamu nochi o mate to kotae yo - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

故郷に訪ふ人あらば紅葉葉の
散りなむ後を待てと答へよ

Roma-ji: Furusato ni tou hito araba momijiba no chirinamu nochi o mate to kotae yo
English Translation: At my old home,
should anyone come calling,
until the autumn leaves
have all fallen from the trees,
answer them: "wait for me"
Meaning: Should anyone come calling at my old home, tell them to wait until the autumn leaves have all fallen.
Commentary: Book Five Autumn Poems II 358

Headnote: "Composed on the topic 'Autumn Leaves Detain a Guest'"
Composed on the topic "Autumn Leaves Detain a Guest." The poet, too entranced by the leaves to think of returning, leaves word with those at home: should anyone come calling at his old house, tell them to wait until the leaves have all fallen. He conveys the heart of a guest detained by the leaves in the surprising form of making his visitors wait for his return.
The author, "Soi Hōshi," was named Fujiwara no Shigetsune in lay life and took the name Soi when he took holy orders.

First line, "furusato ni": "furusato" is a long-familiar place, here the poet's own house.
Second line, "tou hito araba": "should anyone come calling," a supposition. The poem pauses here.
Third line, "momijiba no": giving the subject of "chirinamu" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "chirinamu nochi o": "na" is the perfective "nu" and "mu" the conjectural, "after they have all fallen."
Fifth line, "mate to kotae yo": two imperatives in a row, leaving word with those at home on how to answer. It presents the topic's "detaining a guest" as the poet not coming home.
Author: Soi
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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