Iso ni tachi okibe o mireba mekaribune ama kogizurashi kamo kakeru miyu

磯に立ち沖辺を見れば藻刈り舟
海人漕ぎ出らし鴨翔る見ゆ

Roma-ji: Iso ni tachi okibe o mireba mekaribune ama kogizurashi kamo kakeru miyu
English Translation: Standing on the rocks
when I look far out to sea,
the seaweed boats—
the fishers must be rowing out,
I see the wild ducks take wing
Meaning: Standing on the rocks and gazing out to sea, I see ducks rising into flight—the fishermen must be rowing out in their seaweed boats.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1227

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
Standing on the rocks and gazing out to sea, the poet sees ducks rising into flight and guesses that fishermen have rowed out in their seaweed boats. It is a finely observed landscape poem that reads human activity from the movement of birds.
Its structure closely resembles poem 1199 in this book, "The seaweed boats must be rowing in from sea—I see the cranes take wing," agreeing in inferring the boats' movement from birds taking flight. That poem sings of boats rowing in and this one of boats rowing out, so the two form a pair. It is regarded as coming from the Old Collection. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Standing on the rocks," sets the poet's position.
The second line, "when I look far out to sea," means gazing toward the open water.
The third line, "the seaweed boats," is the same word as the first line of poem 1199.
In the fourth line, "rashi" expresses inference, and the poem pauses here.
The final line, "I see the wild ducks take wing," follows the same pattern as "I see the cranes take wing," the last line of poem 1199.
Source: Manyoshu
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