Kokoro o ba fukaki momiji no iro ni somete wakarete yuku ya chiru ni naruran

心をば深き紅葉の色に染めて
別れて行くや散るになるらん

Roma-ji: Kokoro o ba fukaki momiji no iro ni somete wakarete yuku ya chiru ni naruran
English Translation: Leaving my heart dyed
in the colors of these deep
autumn leaves of yours—
is my going, parting now,
what becomes their scattering?
Meaning: Leaving my heart dyed in the deep color of these autumn leaves, is it my parting and going away that serves as their scattering?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1086

Headnote: "I went to tell someone I had long been close to that I was leaving on a distant pilgrimage, and as I left full of lingering regret, he said that he had waited to show me the autumn leaves, and what a pity it was; so I stepped under the tree and composed this"
Saigyō went to tell an old friend that he was leaving on a distant pilgrimage, and as he left reluctantly, the friend lamented that he had waited to show him the autumn leaves, all for nothing. Stepping beneath the tree, Saigyō answered: his heart he leaves dyed in the deep color of these leaves, and his own departure is what their scattering amounts to.
To the friend's reproach that he is leaving without viewing the leaves, he wittily replies that his heart is steeped in them, and that his going is itself like falling leaves, entrusting the sorrow of parting to the autumn colors.

First line, “kokoro o ba”: o ba sets the heart apart for emphasis.
Second line, “fukaki momiji no”: of the deep-hued leaves, also suggesting the depth of parting feeling.
Third line, “iro ni somete”: dyeing the heart in that color; the line has an extra syllable.
Fourth line, “wakarete yuku ya”: ya is a questioning particle answered by the attributive ran in the fifth line.
Fifth line, “chiru ni naruran”: might it amount to their scattering?, likening his departure to falling leaves.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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