Shio mitaba ika ni semu to ka watatsumi no kami ga te wataru ama otomedomo

潮満たばいかにせむとか海神の
神が手渡る海人娘子ども

Roma-ji: Shio mitaba ika ni semu to ka watatsumi no kami ga te wataru ama otomedomo
English Translation: When the tide flows in,
what will you do, I wonder,
crossing where the hand
of the great god of the sea
reaches—you fisher girls?
Meaning: What will you do when the tide comes in, you fisher girls, crossing the waters that lie in the very hand of the sea god?
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1216

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
The poet worries about the fisher girls crossing a dangerous place that seems to lie in the sea god's very hand, wondering what they will do when the tide comes in. The bold figures of the girls, seen through a traveler's eyes, evoke both astonishment and concern.
It is regarded as coming from the Old Collection. "Kami ga te" (the god's hand) is taken to mean a dangerous place under the sea god's sway. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "When the tide flows in," sets the supposition.
The second line, "what will you do, I wonder," pauses the poem.
The third line refers to the god of the sea.
The fourth line, "crossing where the hand ... reaches," is taken to mean crossing a place like the palm of the sea god's hand.
The final line ends with a vocative noun, "you fisher girls."
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Tamatsushima yoku mite imase aoniyoshi nara naru hito no machi towaba ika ni
Next Poem: Tamatsushima miteshi yokeku mo ware wa nashi miyako ni yukite koimaku omoeba