Iso no ura ni kiyoru shiranami kaeritsutsu sugikatenaku wa tare ni tayutae

磯の浦に来寄る白波返りつつ
過ぎかてなくは誰れにたゆたへ

Roma-ji: Iso no ura ni kiyoru shiranami kaeritsutsu sugikatenaku wa tare ni tayutae
English Translation: To the rocky cove
the white waves come rolling in,
and return again;
unable to pass on by—
for whom do you waver so?
Meaning: The white waves that roll into the rocky cove turn back and come again, unable to pass on—for whose sake are you wavering so?
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1389

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the Sea"
The white waves rolling into the rocky cove turn back and come again, unable to pass on; for whom do they waver so? The waves that come and go stand for a man who lingers back and forth near a woman's house unable to leave, and the poem asks for whom he hesitates.
It is one of the poems "On the Sea," following the waves rolling to the shore in the preceding poem with white waves that come and go. The second line, "the white waves come rolling in," is the same as in poem 1391, two poems later. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "To the rocky cove," has an extra syllable.
The second line, "the white waves come rolling in," is the same as in poem 1391 in this book.
The third line, "and return again," stands for coming and going.
The fourth line, "unable to pass on by," means unable to go past.
The final line, "for whom do you waver so," breaks off in the perfective form to pose the question.
Source: Manyoshu
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