Chidori naku saho no kawase no sazarenami yamu toki mo nashi aga kouraku wa

千鳥鳴く佐保の川瀬のさざれ波
やむ時もなし我が恋ふらくは

Roma-ji: Chidori naku saho no kawase no sazarenami yamu toki mo nashi aga kouraku wa
English Translation: Where the plovers cry,
in the shallows of the Saho
ripple little waves;
never do they cease at all,
nor does this longing of mine
Meaning: Like the ripples in the shallows of the Saho River, where the plovers cry, my longing for you never ceases.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 526

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Four poems by Ōtomo no Iratsume in reply"
With the ripples in the shallows of the Saho River, where plovers cry, as its preface, this poem says her longing never ceases. The unending little waves stand for a love without a break. Like the preceding poem it names the Saho River, drawing her replies together with the scenery of Saho, where she lived.
According to the left note, she was the daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro, the Saho Major Counselor; she first married Prince Hozumi and enjoyed his favor, and after his death was courted by Fujiwara no Maro. Because she lived in the village of Sakanoue, she was called Lady Sakanoue.
The author, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and half-sister of Ōtomo no Tabito. She left many poems in the Man'yōshū and is esteemed as a leading woman poet.

First line, "Where the plovers cry," modifies Saho, since plovers were plentiful on its river. Poem 528 opens with the same words, "where the plovers cry at Saho," so the phrase recurs within the sequence.
Second line, "in the shallows of the Saho," means the shallows of the Saho River, taking up "the Saho River" of the preceding poem.
Third line, "ripple little waves," names sazarenami, fine small waves; the first three lines form a preface to "never do they cease."
Fourth line, "never do they cease at all," turns the ceaseless ripples into ceaseless longing. The poem breaks after this line.
Fifth line, "nor does this longing of mine," uses kouraku, the nominalized form of kou, "to long": my longing. By inversion the subject comes last.
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
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