Kamitsuse ni kawazu tsuma yobu yū sareba koromode samumi tsuma makamu to ka

上つ瀬にかはづ妻呼ぶ夕されば
衣手寒み妻まかむとか

Roma-ji: Kamitsuse ni kawazu tsuma yobu yū sareba koromode samumi tsuma makamu to ka
English Translation: In the upper shoals
kajika call to their mates;
when the evening comes,
since their sleeves are growing cold,
would they lie beside their wives?
Meaning: In the upper shoals the kajika frogs call to their mates—now that evening comes and their sleeves are cold, do they mean to lie with their wives?
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2165

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Singing Frogs"
This poem imagines that the kajika frogs calling for their mates in the upper shoals mean to lie with their wives because of the evening chill, and it closes the frog group. Hearing the frogs' cries as calls to their mates, it overlays them with human love. Just as the calling deer sought their mates in the deer group, the frogs too are sung as calling their mates.

The first line, "in the upper shoals," names the place.
The second line, "the kajika call their mates," breaks the poem after the second line.
The third line, "when evening comes," names the time.
In the fourth line, "koromode samumi," "koromode" means sleeves and "mi" marks cause: because the sleeves are cold.
In the last line, "tsuma makamu to ka," "maku" means to lie with and "ka" is a question, closing by imagining the frogs' hearts.
Source: Manyoshu
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