Yūnagi ni asari suru tazu shio miteba okinami takami onozuma yobau

夕なぎにあさりする鶴潮満てば
沖波高み己妻呼ばふ

Roma-ji: Yūnagi ni asari suru tazu shio miteba okinami takami onozuma yobau
English Translation: In the evening calm
the cranes search the shore for food;
when the tide flows in,
the waves offshore rising high,
each calls again for its mate
Meaning: The cranes foraging in the evening calm—when the tide comes in and the offshore waves run high, each one calls and calls for its mate.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1165

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
Cranes that were foraging in the evening calm call insistently for their mates when the tide comes in and the offshore waves grow high. In the cranes calling for their mates is overlaid the heart of the poet longing for his wife far away.
Where the preceding poem showed cranes at low tide, this one shows them at high tide, so that the two are paired by the contrast of ebb and flow. Poem 1198 in this book also describes cranes calling for their mates. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "In the evening calm," refers to the stillness of the sea at dusk.
The second line, "the cranes search the shore for food," describes them foraging.
The third line, "when the tide flows in," pairs with "When the tide has ebbed," the first line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "the waves offshore rising high," is a "-mi" form: "because the offshore waves are high."
In the final line, "yobau" means to call repeatedly; it echoes "calling for its mate" in the last line of poem 1198.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Shio fureba tomo ni kata ni ide naku tazu no koe tōzakaru isomi surashi mo
Next Poem: Inishie ni arikemu hito no motometsutsu kinu ni surikemu mano no harihara