Misago iru okitsu ariso ni yosuru nami yukue mo shirazu a ga kōraku wa

みさご居る沖つ荒礒に寄する波
ゆくへも知らず我が恋ふらくは

Roma-ji: Misago iru okitsu ariso ni yosuru nami yukue mo shirazu a ga kōraku wa
English Translation: Where the osprey dwell,
on the rugged offshore rocks,
the waves come breaking;
I know not where it will lead,
this love that I am feeling
Meaning: Like the waves that break against the rugged offshore rocks where ospreys dwell, I cannot tell where it will lead, this love of mine.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2739

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Like the waves that dash and scatter on the rough offshore rocks where ospreys live, the speaker cannot tell where this love will end. The image of waves breaking on the rocks and vanishing to who knows where is laid over the anxiety of a love whose future cannot be seen.
As a poem expressing feelings through things, it speaks through the waves breaking on rough offshore rocks. The fourth line, "yukue mo shirazu," like "yukue shirazute" in poem 2723 of this book, speaks of not seeing where love will lead. Rough rocks also appear in poem 2733, and this poem belongs to a group of poems on seaside scenes. Following the preceding poem, which asks how love might cease, this one laments not knowing where love will end.
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, "misago iru": "where ospreys dwell." The osprey lives by the shore and catches fish in the water, impressing upon us the scene of a wild coast.
Second line, "okitsu ariso ni": "on the rough offshore rocks." "Tsu" is an old particle meaning "of," and "ariso" is a rugged, rocky shore.
Third line, "yosuru nami": "the breaking waves." The first three lines form a preface, and the image of waves shattering on the rocks and vanishing leads into "yukue mo shirazu."
Fourth line, "yukue mo shirazu": "not knowing where it leads." The particle "mo" is added, and the poem breaks here, standing in inverted order with the fifth line.
Fifth line, "a ga kōraku wa": "this love of mine." "Kōraku" is the nominalized form of "kou," and through inversion the poem names the love only at the end, leaving a lingering resonance.
Source: Manyoshu
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