Sakurabana tegoto ni orite kaeru o ba haru no yuku to ya hito wa miruramu - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

桜花手ごとに折りて帰るをば
春の行くとや人は見るらむ

Roma-ji: Sakurabana tegoto ni orite kaeru o ba haru no yuku to ya hito wa miruramu
English Translation: Cherry blossom sprays
broken off in every hand,
as they go back home,
do the onlookers believe
that it is spring departing?
Meaning: As people head home with sprays of cherry blossom broken off in every hand, do onlookers think that spring itself is leaving?
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 31

Seeing blossom-viewers head home with cherry sprays in every hand, the poet imagines it looks as if spring itself were departing. In the conceit that spring is lost as the branches are carried off lies a regret for passing spring.
The author is said to be Minamoto no 登平, a courtier of the Minamoto clan.

The first line, "cherry blossom sprays," are the branches the viewers carry.
The second line, "broken off in every hand," means each person has broken a branch to hold.
The third line, "as they go back home," uses "o ba" to mark the object emphatically.
The fourth line, "that it is spring departing," uses "ya" to raise a question.
The last line, "do the onlookers believe," closes a kakari-musubi with the "ya" of the fourth line and the attributive of "ramu."
Source: Shika Wakashu
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