北山に紅葉をらむとてまかれりける時によめる

見る人もなくてちりぬるおく山の紅葉はよるのにしきなりけり

miru hito mo nakute chirinuru okuyama no
momiji wa yoru no nishiki narikeri

Written when he went to the northern mountains to pick autumn leaves:

"It is like wearing rich brocades by night,
as the coloured leaves scatter in the deep mountains,
where no one sees their beauty."

Ki no Tsurayuki, KKS 297.

This poem refers to a passage in the biography of Xiang Yu, that if one achives success and wealth in the world, and did not return to his native village, it is like wearing brocades by night.

Translation by Zoltan Barczikay.