Se o hayami ochitagichitaru shiranami ni kawazu naku nari asa yoi goto ni

瀬を早み落ちたぎちたる白波に
かはづ鳴くなり朝夕ごとに

Roma-ji: Se o hayami ochitagichitaru shiranami ni kawazu naku nari asa yoi goto ni
English Translation: Since the shoals are swift,
tumbling down and seething white
in the foaming waves,
there the kajika sing, it seems,
every morning, every eve.
Meaning: In the white waves seething where the swift shoals tumble down, the kajika frogs sing, every morning and every evening.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2164

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Singing Frogs"
This poem sings of kajika frogs singing morning and evening in the white waves tumbling down the swift shoals. The violent flow of water and the frogs' voices continuing within it overlap, powerfully depicting the vitality of a clear stream. Like the "tagitsu se," seething rapids, of the Asuka River in 1878, it sings of a seething torrent.

In the first line, "se o hayami," "mi" marks cause: because the shoals are swift.
In the second line, "ochitagichitaru," "tagitsu" means to rush and seethe; the line is hypermetric.
The third line, "in the white waves," names where they sing.
In the fourth line, "kawazu naku nari," "nari" marks hearsay, and the poem breaks here.
The last line, "every morning and evening," shows by inversion the unceasing song.
Source: Manyoshu
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