Makimuku no yamabe toyomite yuku mizu no minawa no gotoshi yo no hito ware wa

巻向の山辺響みて行く水の
水沫のごとし世の人我れは

Roma-ji: Makimuku no yamabe toyomite yuku mizu no minawa no gotoshi yo no hito ware wa
English Translation: At Makimuku
roaring by the mountainside,
the rushing water—
like the foam upon its flow
am I, a man of this world
Meaning: Like the foam on the water that rushes roaring past the foot of the Makimuku hills—such am I, a man living in this world.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1269

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising from a Place"
Like the foam on the river that rushes roaring past the Makimuku hills, the poet, a man of this world, is fleeting. In the foam of the torrent he sees the transience of human life.
Like the preceding poem it takes up Makimuku, and after that poem's mourning for the dead it turns to the frailty of the poet's own life. The left note says, "The two poems above come from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection." It is written in the non-abbreviated style.

The first line, "At Makimuku," names the same place as the second line of the preceding poem.
The second line, "roaring by the mountainside," describes the sound of the stream.
The third line refers to the flowing water of the river.
The fourth line, "like the foam upon its flow," pauses the poem.
The final line, "am I, a man of this world," reveals by inversion that the fleeting thing is the poet himself.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Kora ga te o Makimukuyama wa tsune ni aredo suginishi hito ni yuki makame ya mo
Next Poem: Komoriku no Hatsuse no yama ni teru tsuki wa michikake shikeri hito no tsune naki