Niwatsutori kake no tario no midareo no nagaki kokoro mo omōenu kamo

庭つ鳥鶏の垂り尾の乱れ尾の
長き心も思ほえぬかも

Roma-ji: Niwatsutori kake no tario no midareo no nagaki kokoro mo omōenu kamo
English Translation: Bird of the garden,
the rooster's trailing tail,
its tangled tail feathers—
yet a heart as long as those
I find I cannot keep
Meaning: Long as the tangled, trailing tail of the rooster in the yard—yet I cannot find in me a heart so long and patient.
Commentary: Book Seven Elegies 1413

Headnote: none (Elegies section)
The poet cannot keep a patient heart, long like the tangled, trailing tail of a rooster. It is read as expressing a heart thrown into disorder by thoughts of the dead, unable to endure the grief with patience.
It is the tenth poem in the elegy section. It uses a rooster's tail, a familiar sight, as a preface, overlaying the heart's disorder on the "tangled tail." The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Bird of the garden," is a pillow word for "kake" (rooster), a bird kept in the yard.
The second line, "the rooster's trailing tail," refers to its drooping tail feathers.
The third line, "its tangled tail feathers," closes a preface leading to "long," with "tangled" echoing a troubled heart.
The fourth line, "yet a heart as long as those," means a patient, enduring heart.
In the final line, "I find I cannot keep," "kamo" expresses a sigh.
Source: Manyoshu
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