Ōmi no umi nami kashikomi to kaze mamori toshi wa ya henamu kogu to wa nashi ni

近江の海波畏みと風まもり
年はや経なむ漕ぐとはなしに

Roma-ji: Ōmi no umi nami kashikomi to kaze mamori toshi wa ya henamu kogu to wa nashi ni
English Translation: The sea of Ōmi—
fearing the waves, I watch the wind,
waiting for my time;
will the years go slipping by
without my rowing out at all?
Meaning: Fearing the waves of the sea of Ōmi, I keep watching the wind—will the years slip by like this, without my ever rowing out?
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1390

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the Sea"
Fearing the waves of the sea of Ōmi and watching the wind, will the poet let the years slip by without ever rowing out? The waves stand for others' eyes and gossip, and rowing out for fulfilling one's love; the poem laments that, waiting for a chance for fear of being seen, the years may pass with love unfulfilled.
It is one of the poems "On the Sea." Its third and fourth lines, "I watch the wind, ... will the years go slipping by," are the same as in poem 1400 in this book, one of the poems on boats, where the final line becomes "without our ever meeting," making the meaning of the metaphor explicit. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "The sea of Ōmi," refers to Lake Biwa and has an extra syllable.
The second line, "fearing the waves," stands for wariness of others' eyes and gossip.
The third line, "I watch the wind," is the same as in poem 1400 in this book.
The fourth line, "will the years go slipping by," is also the same as in poem 1400, and the poem pauses here.
The final line, "without my rowing out at all," becomes "without our ever meeting" in poem 1400.
Source: Manyoshu
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