Kono ogawa kiri zo musuberu tagichiyuku hashirii no ue ni kotoage senedomo

この小川霧ぞ結べるたぎちゆく
走井の上に言挙げせねども

Roma-ji: Kono ogawa kiri zo musuberu tagichiyuku hashirii no ue ni kotoage senedomo
English Translation: Over this small stream
the mist has gathered thickly
by the rushing spring
that goes tumbling on its way,
though I have made no loud vow
Meaning: Mist has gathered over this little stream beside the rushing spring that tumbles on its way—though I have spoken no words aloud.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1113

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Rivers"
Beside a spring that gushes and rushes along, mist has settled over the little stream, though no one has made any solemn declaration. Against the old belief that speaking out boldly makes mist rise, the poem catches a mysterious presence in nature.
The Man'yōshū also contains the idea that the breath of sighing rises as mist, revealing an ancient notion linking words and breath with mist. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Over this small stream," points to the brook before the poet's eyes.
The second line, "the mist has gathered thickly," is a kakari-musubi construction in which "zo" is answered by the attributive "-ru." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "that goes tumbling on its way," means rushing violently and modifies "hashirii" in the fourth line.
In the fourth line, "hashirii" means a spring gushing forth and running, and "ue" means its edge.
In the final line, "kotoage" means speaking out and declaring something aloud. Against the belief that such declarations make mist rise, the poet wonders at the mist, since he has said nothing.
Source: Manyoshu
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