Sahogawa ni sawakeru chidori sayo fukete na ga koe kikeba inekatenaku ni

佐保川に騒ける千鳥さ夜更けて
汝が声聞けば寐ねかてなくに

Roma-ji: Sahogawa ni sawakeru chidori sayo fukete na ga koe kikeba inekatenaku ni
English Translation: On the Saho River
you plovers clamor and cry;
now the night is late,
and when I hear your voices
I cannot fall asleep
Meaning: Plovers clamoring on the Saho River—when I hear your cries deep in the night, I cannot sleep.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1124

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Birds"
Addressing the plovers clamoring on the Saho River late at night, the poet complains that hearing them keeps him from sleep. Their cries stir up longing, and the poem conveys the brooding of a sleepless night.
Like the preceding poem it sings of plovers on the Saho River; where that poem cherishes their cry as unforgettable, this one treats it as a voice that disturbs sleep, receiving the same cries with a different heart. The poet is unknown.

The first line repeats the Saho River from the preceding poem's first line, showing the two are a pair.
In the second line, "sawaku" means for birds to cry insistently, answering "the plovers cry" of the preceding poem.
In the third line, "sa" is a prefix: "the night grows late."
The fourth line addresses the plover as "na" (you): "when I hear your voice."
The final line, "I cannot fall asleep," uses "katenaku," the nominalized form of "katenu" (cannot), trailing off with "ni" in a sigh.
Source: Manyoshu
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