Yama no ma ni wataru akisa no yukite imu sono kawa no se ni nami tatsu na yume

山の際に渡るあきさの行きて居む
その川の瀬に波立つなゆめ

Roma-ji: Yama no ma ni wataru akisa no yukite imu sono kawa no se ni nami tatsu na yume
English Translation: Between the mountains
the mergansers fly across;
where they will alight
on the shallows of that stream,
O waves, never rise at all!
Meaning: The mergansers are flying across between the mountains—on the shallows of the stream where they will come to rest, O waves, never rise!
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1122

Headnote: "On Birds"
Watching the mergansers fly across between the mountains, the poet wishes that no waves will rise on the shallows where they will alight to rest. The poem shows a gentle heart that cares for the birds in flight.
It is the first poem under the heading "On Birds." Some read it as expressing concern for a departing traveler through the image of the birds. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Between the mountains," means in the gap between the hills.
In the second line, "akisa" refers to a kind of duck, the merganser, that arrives in autumn.
The third line, "where they will alight," uses the conjectural "mu."
The fourth line, "on the shallows of that stream," names the place where the birds will land.
In the final line, "na" is prohibitive and "yume" means "never," strengthening the prohibition.
Source: Manyoshu
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