Amatobu ya kari o tsukai ni eteshi kamo Nara no miyako ni koto tsugeyaramu

天飛ぶや雁を使に得てしかも
奈良の都に言告げ遣らむ

Roma-ji: Amatobu ya kari o tsukai ni eteshi kamo Nara no miyako ni koto tsugeyaramu
English Translation: If only I could have
the wild geese that fly the sky
as my messengers,
to Nara, the capital,
I would send them with my word
Meaning: If only I could have the wild geese that fly across the sky as my messengers, I would send word by them to Nara, the capital.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3676

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Seven poems composed while anchored at Hikitsu Lodge"
He wishes he could make the wild geese crossing the sky his messengers and send word to Nara, the capital. The idea of geese carrying letters is said to derive from the tale of Su Wu of Han, who conveyed news by a letter tied to a goose's leg, and here geese are sung as carriers of news from the journey to home. The last line is the same as that of 3640 of this book, made at Kumage Bay, "koto tsugeyaramu," so the wish to send word to the capital recurs.
According to the headnote, this is one of seven poems composed while anchored at Hikitsu Lodge. Hikitsu was a harbor in Shima District, Chikuzen Province, thought to be near Hikitsu Bay in Shima, present-day Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture. The author of this poem is not named.

First line, "amatobu ya": flying in the sky, a pillow word for "kari" (wild goose).
Second line, "kari o tsukai ni": making the wild goose a messenger, drawing on the tale of geese carrying letters.
Third line, "eteshi kamo": "teshi ka" expresses a wish and "mo" is exclamatory: how I wish I could have them. The poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, "Nara no miyako ni": the Heijō capital where the travelers' families lived.
Fifth line, "koto tsugeyaramu": "koto tsugu" means to send a message: I would send word, the poem ends. The same last line as in 3640 of this book.
Source: Manyoshu
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