Matokata no minato no sudori nami tate ya tsuma yobitatete he ni chikazuku mo

円方の港の洲鳥波立てや
妻呼びたてて辺に近づくも

Roma-ji: Matokata no minato no sudori nami tate ya tsuma yobitatete he ni chikazuku mo
English Translation: At Matokata
the birds upon the harbor sands—
is it that waves rise?
calling loudly for their mates,
they come in close to shore
Meaning: The birds on the sandbar of Matokata harbor—is it because the waves are rising?—come in toward the shore, calling loudly for their mates.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1162

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
The waterbirds on the sandbar of Matokata harbor, perhaps because the waves are rising, come in toward the shore calling insistently for their mates. In the birds calling for their mates lies the poet's own longing for his wife as he travels.
It is one of the poems composed on journeys; Matokata is a place in Ise, thought to be the coast of present-day Matsusaka in Mie Prefecture. The poet is unknown.

The first line names Matokata in Ise.
The second line, "the birds upon the harbor sands," refers to birds on the sandbar of the harbor.
The third line, "is it that waves rise?" adds the questioning "ya" to the perfective form, guessing at the cause.
The fourth line, "calling loudly for their mates," means crying out insistently for their partners.
In the final line, "mo" is exclamatory: "they come close to the shore!"
Source: Manyoshu
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