Kesa mireba tsuyu no sugaru ni orefushite oki mo agaranu ominaeshi kana

今朝見れば露のすがるに折れ伏して
おきもあがらぬ女郎花かな

Roma-ji: Kesa mireba tsuyu no sugaru ni orefushite oki mo agaranu ominaeshi kana
English Translation: Looking out this morn,
under the clinging dewdrops
bent and broken down,
nor able to rise again,
there the maidenflowers lie.
Meaning: When I look out this morning, the maidenflowers lie bent and broken under the weight of the dew clinging to them, unable even to rise.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 278

Headnote: "Heavy dew on autumn flowers"
The topic is the heavy dew lying on autumn flowers. Looking out this morning, the poet sees the maidenflowers bent and broken under the weight of the dew that clung to them through the night, unable to rise. The flowers drooping under the dew are pictured as a woman who cannot get up from her bed even in the morning.
Oki plays on oku, for dew to settle, and oku, to rise. This is the third poem in the maidenflower series, and the closing ominaeshi kana recurs in the next poem, in 280 and in 282, so that poems ending in wonder at the maidenflower are layered one upon another.

First line, “kesa mireba”: the perfective form with ba, when I look this morning.
Second line, “tsuyu no sugaru ni”: sugaru means to cling, the dew weighing on the flowers as though holding on to them.
Third line, “orefushite”: the stems broken and lying on the ground.
Fourth line, “oki mo agaranu”: oki is a pivot word joining oku, for dew to settle, and oku, to get up, so that with the dew upon them they cannot rise.
Fifth line, “ominaeshi kana”: kana closes with wonder, showing the maidenflowers bowed beneath the dew.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Ominaeshi iromeku nobe ni furebahan tamoto ni tsuyu ya koborekakaru to
Next Poem: Ōkata no nobe no tsuyu ni wa shioruredo waga namida naki ominaeshi kana