Hana naranu kotonoha naredo onozukara iro mo ya aru to kimi hirowanan

花ならぬ言の葉なれどおのづから
色もやあると君拾はなん

Roma-ji: Hana naranu kotonoha naredo onozukara iro mo ya aru to kimi hirowanan
English Translation: Though they are just leaves
of words and not flowers at all,
perhaps they may have,
of themselves, some hue to show—
gather them up, I pray you.
Meaning: These are leaves of words, not flowers, yet perhaps they may have some color of their own; please gather them up.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1239

Headnote: "Hearing that the Master of the Western Capital, Shunzei, was gathering poems, I sent mine with this"
Hearing that Fujiwara no Shunzei, Master of the Western Capital Office, was collecting poems, Saigyō sent his own with this poem. These are leaves of words, not flowers, yet perhaps they may have some color of their own, so please gather them up.
From the "leaves" of kotonoha he strings together associated words, "not flowers," "color," and "gather," humbly yet sincerely hoping his poems might be chosen for the anthology. Shunzei was the foremost poet of the age and later compiled the imperial anthology Senzaishū. It pairs with Shunzei's reply in 1240.

First line, “hana naranu”: not flowers, humbly calling his poems plain and unadorned.
Second line, “kotonoha naredo”: though they are words, poems; "leaves" set against the "flowers" of the first line.
Third line, “onozukara”: of themselves, perhaps.
Fourth line, “iro mo ya aru to”: whether they might have some color, iro associated with flowers.
Fifth line, “kimi hirowanan”: nan expresses a wish, "please gather them"; hirou joins gathering fallen leaves with choosing poems.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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