Hana made wa mi ni nizarubeshi kuchihatete eda mo naki ki no ne o na karashi so

花までは身に似ざるべし朽ち果てて
枝もなき木の根をな枯らしそ

Roma-ji: Hana made wa mi ni nizarubeshi kuchihatete eda mo naki ki no ne o na karashi so
English Translation: As far as blossoms,
that is beyond such as me;
but rotted away,
this tree that has no branches—
do not let its roots wither.
Meaning: To bear blossoms is surely beyond one like me; but this tree, rotted through and without branches—do not let its roots wither.
Commentary: One Hundred Poems 1539

Headnote: "Ten Buddhist Poems: Three on the Thousand-Armed Kannon Sutra"
Among the ten Buddhist poems, the first of three on the Thousand-Armed Kannon Sutra. Bearing blossoms is beyond him, but he prays to Kannon not to let the roots of this tree, rotted and branchless like himself, wither.
Relying on the compassion of the Thousand-Armed Kannon, he prays that even his aged, deadwood body may keep the root of life. One who loved blossoms in the opening poems no longer wishes to bloom but only to keep his roots, contrasting with the blossom poems at the start of the hundred.

First line, “hana made wa”: as far as bearing blossoms.
Second line, “mi ni nizarubeshi”: beshi is conjecture, "it will not befit me"; the poem breaks here.
Third line, “kuchihatete”: having rotted through.
Fourth line, “eda mo naki ki no”: of a tree with no branches, a figure for his aged self.
Fifth line, “ne o na karashi so”: na ... so expresses prohibition, "do not let the roots wither."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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