Hototogisu nakiwatarinu to tsuguredomo ware kikitsugazu hana wa sugitsutsu

霍公鳥鳴き渡りぬと告ぐれども
我れ聞き継がず花は過ぎつつ

Roma-ji: Hototogisu nakiwatarinu to tsuguredomo ware kikitsugazu hana wa sugitsutsu
English Translation: The little cuckoo
has flown by singing, they tell me,
and though they say so,
I do not hear it again,
while the flowers pass their prime
Meaning: People tell me the cuckoo has flown by singing, yet I never get to hear it again, while the flowers go on fading past their prime.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4194

Headnote: "Three more poems resenting the lateness of the cuckoo's song"
The first of three poems resenting the lateness of the cuckoo's song, it laments that while others report the cuckoo has flown by singing, the poet himself cannot hear it again, and the blossoms are passing their prime.
"More" in the headnote means that, following the poem on the cuckoo and wisteria, he still resents the bird's lateness; the sequence deepens his longing as he waits.
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, "hototogisu" (the cuckoo), places at the head the bird that is the theme of all three poems.
Second line, "nakiwatarinu to" (that it has flown by singing): "nu" marks completion, giving the content of what others report.
Third line, "tsuguredomo" (though they tell me), uses a concessive to show the gap between others and the poet.
Fourth line, "ware kikitsugazu" (I do not hear it again): "kikitsugu" means to hear continuously, lamenting that after hearing it once he has not heard it since.
Fifth line, "hana wa sugitsutsu" (while the flowers pass): "tsutsu" expresses continuation, closing with time slipping by as the blossoms fade while he waits.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Hototogisu naku haburi ni mo chirinikeri sakari sugurashi fujinami no hana
Next Poem: Waga kokoda shinowaku shirani hototogisu izuhe no yama o naki ka koyuramu