Amakumo no yaekumogakuri naru kami no oto nomi ni ya mo kikiwatarinamu

天雲の八重雲隠り鳴る神の
音のみにやも聞きわたりなむ

Roma-ji: Amakumo no yaekumogakuri naru kami no oto nomi ni ya mo kikiwatarinamu
English Translation: Like thunder rolling
hidden in the eightfold clouds
of the heavens high,
shall I only by its sound
go on hearing all my days
Meaning: Like thunder rumbling hidden in the eightfold clouds of heaven, shall I go on only hearing of you by report?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2658

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
As only the sound of thunder reaches us from behind layer on layer of cloud, the speaker fears she will go on hearing of her beloved only through rumor, never seeing him: so laments this poem. Through the thunder, it conveys the frustration of a love kept far apart with no chance to meet.
The first three lines form a preface in which thunder rumbling unseen behind the clouds leads to "oto," sound. After the shrines and rites of the preceding poems, this poem speaks through "naru kami," the thundering god, and stands within the group of poems on gods. Some read it as a woman's poem.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather the love poems of people whose names have not come down to us.

First line, "amakumo no": "of the clouds of heaven," continuing into "yaekumo" and suggesting the height and distance of the sky.
Second line, "yaekumogakuri": "hidden in eightfold clouds," expressing invisibility and hinting at the remoteness of the beloved.
Third line, "naru kami no": "of the thunder." "Naru kami" means thunder; these three lines form a preface leading to "oto."
Fourth line, "oto nomi ni ya mo": "only by sound." "Oto" joins the sound of thunder with the sense of rumor. The binding particle "ya" poses a question that links to the conjecture of the last line.
Fifth line, "kikiwatarinamu": "shall I go on hearing?" The intensifying "nu" in its "na" form is joined by the conjectural "mu," whose attributive form answers the "ya" of the fourth line.
Source: Manyoshu
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