Mono omou to inenu asake ni hototogisu nakite sawataru subenaki made ni

物思ふと寐ねぬ朝明に霍公鳥
鳴きてさ渡るすべなきまでに

Roma-ji: Mono omou to inenu asake ni hototogisu nakite sawataru subenaki made ni
English Translation: Lost in brooding thought,
at a dawn when I've not slept,
hototogisu
crosses over, singing on,
till I know not what to do.
Meaning: At dawn, after a sleepless night lost in brooding, the hototogisu flies across, singing—till I am at my wits' end.
Commentary: Book Ten Summer Miscellaneous Poems 1960

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Birds"
This poem sings of a hototogisu crossing overhead at dawn after a sleepless night of brooding, its voice piercing the heart beyond bearing. The weariness of a night of brooding and the bird's voice at dawn overlap, deepening the ache in the breast. Whereas 1949 wondered whether the beloved had heard the dawn hototogisu, this poem sings of the pain of hearing the bird at a sleepless dawn.

The first line, "lost in brooding," gives the cause of sleeplessness.
The second line, "at a dawn when I did not sleep," uses "asake," dawn.
The third line, "hototogisu," is the subject.
In the fourth line, "nakite sawataru," "sa" is a prefix, showing the bird crossing as it sings.
The last line, "subenaki made ni," to the point of helplessness, gives by inversion the heart's desperation at the end.
Source: Manyoshu
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