At my very gate
the inaose-bird has cried—
and with that same breath,
on the wind that blows this dawn
the wild geese have now arrived.
- Meaning
- At my gate, as the inaose-bird cries, the wild geese have arrived upon the wind that blows this morning.
- Commentary
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Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
The inaose-bird is said to be a migratory bird that comes in autumn, and the poem describes the arrival of the wild geese.
The exact identity of the inaose-bird is uncertain; some say it is a wagtail, while other theories exist. In traditional teachings, it is counted among the “three birds” along with the yobiko-bird and the momo-chidori.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
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- Though it is not from the one for whom I wait—still, the first wild goose’s cry heard this morning at dawn is wondrous to my heart.
- On the autumn wind the first wild goose is heard— its cry drifting near; for whom does it bear a letter, carried thus across the sky?
- How early it cries— the call of the passing wild goose; though the white dew yet tints the trees, not fully turned into the hues of autumn leaves.
- Through springtime haze the wild geese once passed away— yet now they cry, above the drifting autumn mist, their voices heard once more.