Mitsu shio no nagare hiruma o aigatami mirume no ura ni yoru o koso mate - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

満つ潮の流れひるまを逢ひがたみ
みるめの浦によるをこそ待て

Roma-ji: Mitsu shio no nagare hiruma o aigatami mirume no ura ni yoru o koso mate
English Translation: While the rising tide
ebbs away through the daylight,
hard it is to meet,
so by the bay of sea-pine
I wait for the night to come
Meaning: Through the daylight hours, while the tide ebbs, it is hard to meet, so at the bay where sea-pine drifts in, I wait for night to fall.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 665

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
Since meeting is hard by day with others watching, the poet waits for night. With hiru punning on "ebb" and "daytime," mirume on "sea-pine" and "a chance to meet," and yoru on "drift in" and "night," the ebb and flow of the tide is overlaid with the impatience of love. It is a technically elaborate poem stringing together words associated with the sea.
The author, recorded as Kiyohara Fukayabu with the given name in kana, is Kiyohara no Fukayabu. He was the great-grandfather of Sei Shonagon and served as Senior Assistant of the Palace Storehouse Bureau. Famed also as a koto player, he is counted among the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals of the Middle Ages.

The first line, "mitsu shio no," means "of the rising tide."
The second line, "nagare hiruma o," uses hiru as a pivot word for "ebb" and "daytime," overlaying the ebbing tide with the daylight hours.
The third line, "aigatami," means "since it is hard to meet," the suffix mi giving the reason.
The fourth line, "mirume no ura ni," uses mirume as a pivot word for "sea-pine" and "a chance to meet," overlaying the seaweed bay with the chance of meeting.
The final line, "yoru o koso mate," uses yoru as a pivot word for "drift in" and "night," meaning "I wait for night," closing the koso construction with the realis mate. "Tide," "ebb," "sea-pine," "bay," and "drift in" are associated words.
Author: Kiyohara no Fukayabu
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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