Akegure no asagirigomori nakite yuku kari wa aga koi imo ni tsuge koso

明け暮れの朝霧隠り鳴きて行く
雁は我が恋妹に告げこそ

Roma-ji: Akegure no asagirigomori nakite yuku kari wa aga koi imo ni tsuge koso
English Translation: In the dim of dawn,
hidden in the morning mist,
crying as you go,
wild geese, this longing of mine,
tell my darling, I beg you!
Meaning: O wild geese, crying as you fly hidden in the morning mist before dawn—carry my longing to my wife.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2129

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Wild Geese"
This poem asks the wild geese flying and crying hidden in the morning mist before dawn to carry the speaker's longing to his wife. Geese were thought of as birds that carry messages, and the speaker entrusts his feelings for a distant wife to them. Taking up the receding geese of the preceding poem, here the speaker asks those geese to be love's messengers.

The first line, "in the dim before dawn," sets the time.
The second line, "hidden in the morning mist," describes the geese.
The third line, "crying as they go," describes their flight.
The fourth line, "geese, my love," addresses the geese.
In the last line, "imo ni tsuge koso," "koso" is a particle of wishing: tell my wife.
Source: Manyoshu
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