Watatsumi no okitsu nawanori kuru toki to imo ga matsuramu tsuki wa henitsutsu

わたつみの沖つ縄海苔来る時と
妹が待つらむ月は経につつ

Roma-ji: Watatsumi no okitsu nawanori kuru toki to imo ga matsuramu tsuki wa henitsutsu
English Translation: Like the rope-weed
hauled in from the offing,
it is time he came,
my love must think, waiting,
but the months go slipping by
Meaning: Like rope-weed drawn in from the sea's offing, the time of my coming is near, my wife must think, waiting; yet the months keep slipping by.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3663

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Nine poems composed while gazing at the moon by the sea"
He laments that the month in which his wife must be waiting for his return, thinking it time, is slipping by in vain. From "kuru" (to haul in) the rope-weed of the offing he draws out "kuru" (to come), joining an image of the seashore to the heart of the waiting wife. The last line, "tsuki wa henitsutsu," is the same as that of 3685 of this book, made at Komashima in Hizen, so the lament that the month of the promised return is passing recurs as the journey goes on.
According to the headnote, this is one of nine poems composed while gazing at the moon by the sea, thought to have been made during the stay at the Tsukushi lodge. The author of this poem is not named.

First line, "watatsumi no": "watatsumi" is the god of the sea, by extension the sea.
Second line, "okitsu nawanori": "nawanori" is a seaweed long like rope; from "kuru" (to haul it in) it serves as a preface leading into "kuru" (to come) in the third line.
Third line, "kuru toki to": thinking it the time for her husband to come, pivoting on "kuru" as haul and come.
Fourth line, "imo ga matsuramu": "ramu" conjectures a present matter out of sight: which my wife must be awaiting, modifying "tsuki" (month) in the last line.
Fifth line, "tsuki wa henitsutsu": "fu" means time passing and "nitsutsu" is the perfective "nu" with continuative "tsutsu": the months keep passing on, the poem trails off with a lingering resonance.
Source: Manyoshu
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