Shika no ama no tsuribune no tsuna aezu shite kokoro ni omoite idete kinikeri

志賀の海人の釣舟の綱堪へずして
心に思ひて出でて来にけり

Roma-ji: Shika no ama no tsuribune no tsuna aezu shite kokoro ni omoite idete kinikeri
English Translation: Like the rope that holds
the Shika fishermen's boats,
unable to bear it,
with my heart full of longing,
I have come away from home
Meaning: Like the mooring rope of the Shika fishermen's boats that cannot bear the strain, I could not endure it—and with my heart full of longing I came away from home.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1245

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
Like the rope of a Shika fisherman's boat stretched past bearing, the poet could not endure the pain of parting and came away from home with his feelings pent up in his heart. The figure of the boat's rope expresses a heart strained to the breaking point.
It is regarded as coming from the Old Collection. Shika is Shika Island in Chikuzen, known as a home of fisherfolk. The next poem also sings of the fishermen of Shika. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "the Shika fishermen's," names the fisherfolk of Shika Island and has an extra syllable.
The second line, "Like the rope that holds ... boats," refers to the mooring rope; the first two lines form a figure leading to "aezu" (cannot bear).
The third line, "unable to bear it," overlays a rope that cannot bear the strain with a heart that cannot endure.
The fourth line, "with my heart full of longing," has an extra syllable.
In the final line, "keri" is exclamatory: "I have come away."
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Otomera ga hanari no kami o yū no yama kumo na tanabiki ie no atari mimu
Next Poem: Shika no ama no shio yaku keburi kaze o itami tachi wa noborazu yama ni tanabiku