Tabi ni arite mono o zo omou shiranami no he ni mo oki ni mo yoru to wa nashi ni

旅にありてものをぞ思ふ白波の
辺にも沖にも寄るとはなしに

Roma-ji: Tabi ni arite mono o zo omou shiranami no he ni mo oki ni mo yoru to wa nashi ni
English Translation: On my journey far
I am lost in brooding thought;
like the white waves
that neither near the shore
nor drift toward the open sea
Meaning: Away on my journey I am lost in brooding, like white waves that neither come to the shore nor settle far out at sea.
Commentary: Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3158

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
On a journey, lost in brooding, the poet sings of a heart without anchor, like white waves that come neither to the shore nor to the open sea. A heart with nowhere to go is entrusted to the image of drifting waves.
The poet is unknown. Book Twelve, titled the second part of "Love Poems Exchanged Old and New," gathers love poems by people whose names have not come down to us, arranged by category.

Line one, "tabi ni arite," means "being on a journey," the same opening as poem 3136 in this book.
Line two, "mono o zo omou," means "I am lost in thought," with "zo" concluded by the attributive "omou." The poem pauses here.
Line three, "shiranami no," means "like the white waves."
Line four, "he ni mo oki ni mo," means "neither to the shore nor out at sea."
Line five, "yoru to wa nashi ni," means "without drawing near," likening the unsettled brooding of travel to waves with nowhere to come ashore.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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