Amanogawa kozo no watarize utsuroeba kawase o fumu ni yo zo fukenikeru

天の川去年の渡りで移ろへば
川瀬を踏むに夜ぞ更けにける

Roma-ji: Amanogawa kozo no watarize utsuroeba kawase o fumu ni yo zo fukenikeru
English Translation: The Heavenly River,
last year's crossing place has changed,
shifting in its bed,
and while I trod the shallows,
oh, the night has deepened on.
Meaning: Because last year's ford across the Heavenly River has shifted, the night has grown late as I wade through the shallows searching.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2018

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata"
In this poem the Herdsman tells how, because last year's ford across the Heavenly River had shifted, the night grew late while he searched the shallows. The change in the river's course, a work of nature, shows the length of the year that has passed. The anxiety of losing the precious time of meeting is packed into "yo zo fukenikeru."
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet of the Asuka period, active under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note records that this poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, and it is uncertain whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a poem by someone else that he recorded.

The first line, "the Heavenly River," names the river dividing the stars.
In the second line, "kozo no watarize," "watarize" is taken to mean the ford where one crosses.
The third line, "since it has shifted," uses "ba" as an established condition.
The fourth line, "while treading the shallows," describes the search.
In the last line, "yo zo fukenikeru," "zo" is an emphatic particle in kakari-musubi with the attributive "keru," closing with the anxiety of the late hour.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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