Matōku no kumoi ni miyuru imo ga e ni itsuka itaramu ayume a ga koma

ま遠くの雲居に見ゆる妹が家に
いつか至らむ歩め我が駒

Roma-ji: Matōku no kumoi ni miyuru imo ga e ni itsuka itaramu ayume a ga koma
English Translation: Far, so far away,
seen among the distant clouds,
my beloved's home—
when will I arrive at last?
Onward, onward, steed of mine!
Meaning: When shall I reach my wife's house, seen far off among the clouds? Walk on, my horse!
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3441

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Miscellaneous Poems"
When will he reach his wife's house, seen far off among the clouds, the traveler wonders, urging on his horse. The eagerness to hurry home comes out in his call to the horse.
It is one of the miscellaneous poems. The left note says that in the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection the first line reads "tōku shite" and the last "ayume kurokoma." Book Seven also contains a similar poem from the Hitomaro Collection.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.

First line, "matōku no": "Ma" is a prefix: far, far away.
Second line, "kumoi ni miyuru": "Kumoi" is where the clouds are, a far distance.
Third line, "imo ga e ni": "Imo ga e" is his wife's house, read "imo ga e."
Fourth line, "itsuka itaramu": "Itsuka" means when at last, and "mu" is conjectural; the poem pauses here.
Final line, "ayume a ga koma": An imperative calling, walk on, my horse. The Hitomaro Collection has "ayume kurokoma," walk on, black steed.
Source: Manyoshu
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