Wakite min oiki wa hana mo aware nari ima ikutabi ka haru ni au beki

わきて見ん老い木は花もあはれなり
今いくたびか春にあふべき

Roma-ji: Wakite min oiki wa hana mo aware nari ima ikutabi ka haru ni au beki
English Translation: I'll look with great care:
an old tree, even its blooms
stir my heart so deep:
how many more times will it
live to meet another spring?
Meaning: I will look with special care: an old tree moves the heart, even its blossoms. How many more springs will it live to see?
Commentary: Spring Poems 94

Headnote: "On seeing an old cherry tree blooming here and there"
According to the headnote, this poem was composed on seeing an old cherry tree bearing sparse blossoms here and there. The flowers of the old tree stir deep feeling, and the poet wonders how many more springs it will live to meet.
Following the preceding poem on viewing blossoms in old age, this one turns its gaze on an old tree itself. Concern for the old tree's future is overlaid with thoughts of the poet's own advancing age.

First line, “wakite min”: I will look with special care, with a break after the first line.
Second line, “oiki wa hana mo”: an old tree, even its blossoms.
Third line, “aware nari”: deeply moving, with a break after the third line.
Fourth line, “ima ikutabi ka”: how many more times; the interrogative ka forms a kakari-musubi with the attributive beki in the fifth line.
Fifth line, “haru ni au beki”: will it meet the spring, closing with thoughts of the old tree's remaining life.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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