Waga kado no enomi mori hamu momochidori chidori wa kuredo kimi zo kimasanu

我が門の榎の実もり食む百千鳥
千鳥は来れど君ぞ来まさぬ

Roma-ji: Waga kado no enomi mori hamu momochidori chidori wa kuredo kimi zo kimasanu
English Translation: At my gate, the hackberries
are pecked by the hundred birds,
the thousand birds—
yes, the birds come flocking here,
but you, my love, do not come.
Meaning: A hundred birds come to peck at the hackberries by my gate—the birds all come, but you, my love, never do.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3872

Headnote: none; the left note to the next poem reads: "The above two poems."
The singer laments that many birds come to peck the hackberries by her gate, but the lover she awaits does not. The contrast between the bustling birds and the absent lover sharpens the loneliness of the waiting woman.
The left note records only "the above two poems" for this and the next poem; author and origin are unknown. It is thought to have been sung as a folk song.
The poet is not recorded.

First line, "waga kado no," means "at my gate." The next poem, 3873, also begins "waga kado ni," and the two share the same scene.
Second line, "enomi mori hamu," means "pecking the hackberries."
Third line, "momochidori," means "a hundred birds," leading smoothly into chidori in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "chidori wa kuredo," means "the birds do come, but."
Final line, "kimi zo kimasanu," means "you do not come." The particle zo and attributive nu of the negative form a kakari-musubi, voicing strong grief at the absent lover.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Tsunoshima no seto no wakame wa hito no muta arakarishikado ware to wa nikime
Next Poem: Waga kado ni chidori shiba naku okiyo okiyo waga hitoyozuma hito ni shirayu na