Nami no utsu se mireba tama zo midarekeru hirowaba sode ni hakanakaramu ya - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

波のうつせみれば玉ぞ乱れける
拾はば袖にはかなからむや

Roma-ji: Nami no utsu se mireba tama zo midarekeru hirowaba sode ni hakanakaramu ya
English Translation: Where the waves are breaking
I gaze upon the shallows—jewels
scattered in disarray;
if I gathered them, in my sleeve
would they not melt into nothing?
Meaning: Looking at the shallows where the waves break, I see jewels scattered everywhere. If I were to gather them, would they simply vanish, fleeting, in my sleeve?
Commentary: Book Ten Names of Things 424

Headnote: "Cicada shell"
This poem says that in the shallows where waves break, jewels lie scattered, and wonders whether they would vanish if gathered into the sleeve. Likening the breaking spray to jewels, it hides the title "utsusemi" (cicada shell) in "nami no utsu se mireba" across the first and second lines. Fitting a title that means the empty husk of a cicada, it ends on the fragility of what melts away in the hand. The next poem, 425, is Mibu no Tadamine's reply, which answers by hiding the same title, an exchange of poems that is rare in this book.
The poet, "Ariwara no Shigeharu," is Ariwara no Shigeharu. The second son of Ariwara no Narihira, he was also called Zaiji no Kimi.

First line "Nami no utsu" means "where the waves break," leading into "se" (shallows).
Second line "se mireba tama zo" means "looking at the shallows, jewels," and the title is hidden in "utsusemi" running on from the first line. The particle "zo" reaches forward to the ending of the third line.
Third line "midarekeru" closes in the attributive form in answer to "zo," picturing jewels of spray in disarray. The poem pauses here.
Fourth line "hirowaba sode ni" is conditional, meaning "if I gathered them, in my sleeve."
Fifth line "hakanakaramu ya" uses "ya" as a question, fearing they would vanish in the sleeve. It echoes the sense of transience carried by the title, the cicada shell.
Author: Ariwara no Shigeharu
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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