Kusamakura tabi ni mono omoi waga kikeba yū katamakete naku kawazu ka mo

草枕旅に物思ひ我が聞けば
夕かたまけて鳴くかはづかも

Roma-ji: Kusamakura tabi ni mono omoi waga kikeba yū katamakete naku kawazu ka mo
English Translation: Pillowed on the grass,
on my journey, deep in thought,
as I listen here,
evening drawing on, they sing,
oh, the kajika frogs!
Meaning: As I listen, lost in thought on my journey with grass for a pillow, the kajika frogs begin to sing as evening draws near.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2163

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Singing Frogs"
This poem says that as the speaker broods on a journey, the kajika frogs begin to sing as evening draws near. The loneliness of travel and the melancholy of dusk overlap with the frogs' voices, deepening the sorrow of travel. Whereas the preceding poems took the frogs' voices as a sign of clarity or of autumn, this one sings of hearing them amid the brooding of a journey.

The first line, "kusamakura," is a pillow word attached to "journey."
The second line, "brooding on my journey," describes the speaker's state.
The third line, "as I listen," uses "ba" as an established condition.
In the fourth line, "yū katamakete," "katamaku" means that a time draws near: as evening approaches.
In the last line, "naku kawazu ka mo," "ka mo" is exclamatory, closing with the frogs' voices ringing amid the sorrow of travel.
Source: Manyoshu
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