Ashi no ha ni yūgiri tachite kamo ga ne no samuki yūe shi na o ba shinowamu

葦の葉に夕霧立ちて鴨が音の
寒き夕し汝をば偲はむ

Roma-ji: Ashi no ha ni yūgiri tachite kamo ga ne no samuki yūe shi na o ba shinowamu
English Translation: On the leaves of reeds
the evening mist rises up,
the wild ducks' calling
sounds so cold at dusk—then, then
I shall be remembering you.
Meaning: When the evening mist rises over the reed leaves and the ducks' cries sound cold at dusk, then I will remember you.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3570

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems of the Frontier Guards"
When evening mist rises over the reeds and the ducks' cries sound chill at dusk, a frontier guard tells his wife, he will surely think of her. The lonely evening scene on his journey deepens his longing for the wife he has left.
It is one of the frontier guards' poems. It sings of a waterside scene on the road, echoing the waterfowl poems from 3524. The scene also recalls Prince Shiki's poem in Book One about frost on the wings of ducks among the reeds.
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, "ashi no ha ni": "On the reed leaves," a waterside scene.
Second line, "yūgiri tachite": "The evening mist rising."
Third line, "kamo ga ne no": The ducks' calls, leading to the cold.
Fourth line, "samuki yūe shi": "Yūe" means evening, and "shi" intensifies.
Final line, "na o ba shinowamu": "I will remember," with "mu" conjectural; the last line turns to address his wife.
Source: Manyoshu
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