Natsuso hiku unakamigata no okitsu su ni tori wa sudakedo kimi wa oto mo sezu

夏麻引く海上潟の沖つ洲に
鳥はすだけど君は音もせず

Roma-ji: Natsuso hiku unakamigata no okitsu su ni tori wa sudakedo kimi wa oto mo sezu
English Translation: Where summer hemp is pulled,
on Unakami's tidal flats,
in the offshore shoals
the birds are thronging, calling,
but from you, no word at all
Meaning: On the offshore shoals of Unakami Flats the birds are thronging and calling—but from you, my love, there is not a sound.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1176

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
The poet laments that though birds throng and cry noisily on the offshore shoals of Unakami Flats, there is no word at all from the one she loves. The bustle of the birds is set against the beloved's silence, heightening the loneliness of one who waits.
It is one of the poems composed on journeys; Unakami Flats are thought to be on the coast of Kazusa or Shimōsa, among the poems naming places in the east. The poet is unknown.

The first line uses "natsuso hiku," pulling up summer hemp, as a pillow word for the "u" of "Unakami."
The second line names the tidal flats of Unakami in Kazusa or Shimōsa and has an extra syllable.
The third line, "in the offshore shoals," gives the place.
In the fourth line, "sudaku" means to flock together noisily.
The final line, "but from you, no word at all," contrasts with the birds' cries in the fourth line.
Source: Manyoshu
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