Korogi no machiyorokoburu aki no yo o nuru shirushi nashi makura to ware wa

こほろぎの待ち喜ぶる秋の夜を
寝る験なし枕と我れは

Roma-ji: Korogi no machiyorokoburu aki no yo o nuru shirushi nashi makura to ware wa
English Translation: The crickets await
with delight the autumn night,
yet there is no point
sleeping through it, none at all,
for my pillow and for me.
Meaning: The autumn night that the crickets await with such delight is no use for sleeping—for my pillow and for me.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Love Poems 2264

Headnote: "Love Expressed Through Crickets"
This poem laments that the long autumn night the crickets await with delight is no use for sleeping to the speaker, without a beloved, and the pillow. Its headnote is "Love Expressed Through Crickets." The contrast between the crickets singing gladly in the autumn night and the lonely speaker sleeping alone is vivid. The expression "my pillow and I," placing the pillow as the speaker's companion, humorously conveys the solitude of sleeping alone.

The first line, "the crickets," names the insects.
The second line, "that wait with delight," describes them.
The third line, "the autumn night," names the time.
In the fourth line, "nuru shirushi nashi," "shirushi" means worth: there is no point in sleeping. The poem breaks here.
The last line, "my pillow and I," names by inversion those for whom sleep is pointless.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Nagatsuki no shigure no ame no yamagiri no ibuseki aga mune ta o miba yamamu
Next Poem: Asagasumi kabiya ga shita ni naku kawazu koe dani kikaba are koime ya mo