Amatobu ya tori ni mo ga mo ya miyako made okuri mōshite tobikaeru mono

天飛ぶや鳥にもがもや都まで
送りまをして飛び帰るもの

Roma-ji: Amatobu ya tori ni mo ga mo ya miyako made okuri mōshite tobikaeru mono
English Translation: Soaring through the sky,
oh, that I were but a bird!
All the way to the capital
I would escort you, and then
come flying back again
Meaning: If only I were a bird that flies through the sky! I could escort you all the way to the capital and fly back again.
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 876

Headnote: "Four Japanese poems on the day of a farewell banquet in the library hall"
The poet says that if he were a bird flying through the sky, he could see his lord off to the capital and fly back. Unable to leave his post, he voices the sorrow of parting in the wish to become a bird and escort Tabito home.
The headnote reads "Four Japanese poems on the day of a farewell banquet in the library hall." They were composed at a send-off held in the library hall of Dazaifu in the winter of Tenpyō 2 for Ōtomo no Tabito, who had been appointed Major Counselor and was returning to the capital; "Japanese poems" distinguishes them from Chinese verse. No author is named, but like the three poems that follow they are generally attributed to Yamanoue no Okura.
The poet, Yamanoue no Okura, was an official who went to Tang China as a junior secretary with the embassy appointed in Taihō 1. After his return he served as Governor of Hōki and in the household of the Crown Prince, and late in the Jinki era he was posted to Tsukushi as Governor of Chikuzen. He is known for poems rooted in everyday life, on the sufferings of human existence, love for family, and poverty, written against a background of learning in Chinese classics and Buddhist scripture.

First line, "amatobu ya": a pillow word for bird; "ya" is an interjectory particle.
Second line, "tori ni mo ga mo ya": "mo ga mo" expresses a wish: if only I were a bird. The poem breaks here.
Third line, "miyako made": as far as the capital at Nara, where Tabito returns.
Fourth line, "okuri mōshite": "mōsu" is humble: "escorting you respectfully."
Fifth line, "tobikaeru mono": "I would fly back," stating what a bird could do and leaving the unfulfilled wish to linger.
Author: Yamanoue no Okura (attributed)
Source: Manyoshu
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