Shigeri yukishi hara no shitakusa obana idete maneku wa tare o shitau naruran

茂り行きし原の下草尾花出でて
招くは誰を慕ふなるらん

Roma-ji: Shigeri yukishi hara no shitakusa obana idete maneku wa tare o shitau naruran
English Translation: Out of undergrowth
in the field grown thick and deep,
pampas plumes rise up:
whom is it that they beckon,
whom is it that they long for?
Meaning: Rising out of the undergrass of a field that has grown thick, the pampas plumes beckon; whom can it be that they are longing for?
Commentary: Autumn Poems 273

Headnote: "On autumn flowers"
The topic is the flowers of autumn. From among the undergrowth of a field that has grown thick, the pampas grass puts out its plumes, which sway in the wind as though beckoning; whom can they be calling to, out of longing? The poem likens the waving plumes to a hand beckoning someone.
The image of pampas plumes beckoning people has long been used in waka, and here it is turned into a question about a heart that yearns for someone. From here poems on pampas grass continue.

First line, “shigeri yukishi”: a hypermetric line of six syllables, having grown thick from summer into autumn.
Second line, “hara no shitakusa”: the low grasses of the field, out of which the plumes emerge.
Third line, “obana idete”: also a hypermetric six syllables, the pampas grass putting out its plumes; obana, tail flower, likens the plume to an animal's tail.
Fourth line, “maneku wa tare o”: likening the plumes swaying in the wind to a beckoning hand, the poet asks whom they call.
Fifth line, “shitau naruran”: naru is assertive and ran is present conjecture, whom can they be longing for.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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