Tsuki mireba kaze ni sakura no eda naete hana yo to tsuguru kokochi koso sure

月見れば風に桜の枝なえて
花よと告ぐる心地こそすれ

Roma-ji: Tsuki mireba kaze ni sakura no eda naete hana yo to tsuguru kokochi koso sure
English Translation: Gazing at the moon,
I see the cherry branches
bending in the wind,
and it feels as if they're telling,
"Blossoms soon will come."
Meaning: As I gaze at the moon, the cherry branches bend in the wind, and it feels as though they are telling me the blossoms are on their way.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1069

Headnote: "When the spring moon was bright, seeing the wind shake the branches of a cherry not yet in bloom"
On a night of bright spring moonlight, Saigyō saw the wind shaking the branches of a cherry tree not yet in flower. As he gazes at the moon, the branches bend in the wind and seem to be telling him that the blossoms are coming.
In the swaying of bare branches he reads an announcement of flowers to come; the longing of Saigyō, lover of cherry blossoms, is entrusted to a moonlit scene.

First line, “tsuki mireba”: as I look at the moon; the realis with ba forms a definite condition.
Second line, “kaze ni sakura no”: by the wind, the cherry's.
Third line, “eda naete”: the branches bending, yielding to the wind.
Fourth line, “hana yo to tsuguru”: telling "blossoms!", the branches personified.
Fifth line, “kokochi koso sure”: koso is emphatic, answered by the realis sure.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Omoihatete furusu ni kaeru uguisu wa tabi no negura ya sumiukaritsuru
Next Poem: Hana o mishi mukashi no kokoro aratamete yoshino no sato ni suman to zo omou