Tsunehito mo okitsutsu kiku zo hototogisu kono akatoki ni kinaku hatsukoe

常人も起きつつ聞くぞ霍公鳥
この暁に来鳴く初声

Roma-ji: Tsunehito mo okitsutsu kiku zo hototogisu kono akatoki ni kinaku hatsukoe
English Translation: Even common folk
will rise up to listen to it—
the little cuckoo's
first song as it comes here
at this very break of dawn
Meaning: Even ordinary people get up to listen to it—the first song of the cuckoo, coming to sing at this daybreak.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4171

Headnote: "The twenty-fourth day falls on the first day of summer, the festival of the fourth month. Therefore, on the evening of the twenty-third, suddenly thinking of the voice of the cuckoo that would sing at dawn, I composed two poems"
On the eve of the first day of summer, the poet imagines that at dawn tomorrow the cuckoo will come and give its first song. If even ordinary people with no taste for elegance rise to hear that first song, how much more will he—the poem expresses his eager waiting for the cuckoo's first call.
The idea of awaiting the cuckoo's arrival at the calendrical start of summer shows Yakamochi's delicate seasonal sense, linking the calendar with the seasonal sights and sounds of nature.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Grand Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. From 746 he served as Governor of Etchū, living at the provincial headquarters in what is now Fushiki, Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture. He is regarded as the leading poet of the Nara period and is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.

First line, "tsunehito mo" (even ordinary people): "tsunehito" means common folk with no taste for elegance, and "mo" carries the sense of "even."
Second line, "okitsutsu kiku zo" (rise up and listen): "zo" is an emphatic final particle, declaring that they do rise to hear it; the poem pauses here.
Third line, "hototogisu" (the cuckoo), places the name of the bird that is the subject of the poem and links to what follows.
Fourth line, "kono akatoki ni" (at this daybreak): "akatoki" is the dark hour before dawn, referring to the morning of the first day of summer in the headnote.
Fifth line, "kinaku hatsukoe" (its first song as it comes), ends on a noun, revealing only at the close the object of "listen" in the second line, in an inverted structure.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Shiratama no migahoshi kimi o mizu hisa ni hina ni shi oreba ikeru to mo nashi
Next Poem: Hototogisu kinaki toyomeba kusa toramu hanatachibana o yado ni wa uezute