Ie ni yukite nani o kataramu ashihiki no yamahototogisu hitokoe mo nake

家に行きて何を語らむあしひきの
山霍公鳥一声も鳴け

Roma-ji: Ie ni yukite nani o kataramu ashihiki no yamahototogisu hitokoe mo nake
English Translation: When I go back home,
what tale is there for telling?
From the foot-dragging hills,
O mountain cuckoo, give me
at least a single song
Meaning: When I get home, what will I have to tell? Mountain cuckoo, sing for me—just one song, at least.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4203

Headnote: "A poem resenting that the cuckoo does not sing"
Composed during the excursion to the lake of Fuse, resenting that the cuckoo does not sing, it asks what the speaker will have to tell at home, and calls on the mountain cuckoo to sing just once. Though they saw the wisteria, the disappointment of not hearing the cuckoo shows through.
The left note reads "the Secretary, Kume no Ason Hironawa." The wish for the cuckoo's voice as a tale to bring home echoes Yakamochi's sequence resenting the cuckoo's lateness, 4194 to 4196 in this book.
The poet, Kume no Hironawa, served under Yakamochi as Secretary (jō, the third-ranking provincial official, also written hangan) of Etchū, and frequently exchanged poems with him.

First line, "ie ni yukite" (when I go home), is hypermetric and imagines the scene at home after the excursion.
Second line, "nani o kataramu" (what shall I tell?): "mu" is conjectural, and the poem pauses here.
Third line, "ashihiki no," is a pillow word for mountains, leading into "yamahototogisu" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "yamahototogisu" (O mountain cuckoo), addresses the cuckoo of the hills.
Fifth line, "hitokoe mo nake" (sing just once): "mo" means "at least," and "nake" is an imperative, closing with an earnest plea.
Author: Kume no Hironawa
Source: Manyoshu
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