Kehi no ura ni yosuru shiranami shikushiku ni imo ga sugata wa omōyuru kamo

飼飯の浦に寄する白波しくしくに
妹が姿は思ほゆるかも

Roma-ji: Kehi no ura ni yosuru shiranami shikushiku ni imo ga sugata wa omōyuru kamo
English Translation: Like the white waves
that wash on Kehi Bay
again and again,
so the image of my love
keeps rising in my thoughts
Meaning: Like the white waves rolling in again and again on Kehi Bay, the image of my beloved keeps coming to mind.
Commentary: Book Twelve Poems Lamenting Parting 3200

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems Lamenting Parting"
Using the white waves rolling again and again on Kehi Bay as an introduction, the poet sings of his wife's image constantly coming to mind. From a bay on Awaji, far from home, the man thinks of the wife he left behind.
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, "Kehi no ura ni," means "at Kehi Bay" on the west coast of Awaji Island, Hyōgo Prefecture, a hypermetric line of six syllables.
Line two, "yosuru shiranami," means "the white waves washing in," and the lines up to here form an introduction leading to "shikushiku ni." Poem 3029 in this book has the same second line.
Line three, "shikushiku ni," means "again and again."
Line four, "imo ga sugata wa," means "my wife's form."
Line five, "omōyuru kamo," means "keeps coming to mind."
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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