Tsukushi e ni hemukaru fune no itsushikamo tsukaematsurite kuni ni hemukamo

筑紫辺に舳向かる船のいつしかも
仕へまつりて国に舳向かも

Roma-ji: Tsukushi e ni hemukaru fune no itsushikamo tsukaematsurite kuni ni hemukamo
English Translation: The ship with its prow
turned toward Tsukushi's shores,
when will it be
that, my service rendered,
its prow turns toward my home?
Meaning: This ship, its prow turned toward Tsukushi, when will it ever, my service done, turn its prow toward my homeland?
Commentary: Book Twenty Frontier Guard Poems 4359

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems of the frontier guards sent in rotation to the provinces of Tsukushi in the second month of Tenpyō Shōhō 7, year of the wood sheep."
When will this ship, its prow turned toward Tsukushi, finish its duty and turn its prow toward home? The poem longs for the day of return. According to the left note, it closes the poems recorded from the nineteen presented by Mamuta no Samimaro, escort officer of Kazusa, after the clumsy ones were left out. Already thinking of the day of return before a ship just setting out is poignant.
The author, Wakaomibe no Hitsuji, is recorded as a regular guard from Nagara District in Kazusa; nothing more is known of him.

The first line, "Tsukushi e ni," "toward Tsukushi," names the destination.
The second line, "hemukaru fune no," "the ship with its prow turned," refers to the ship now heading for Tsukushi.
The third line, "itsushikamo," "when, oh when," expresses impatient longing for the day of return.
The fourth line, "tsukaematsurite," means "having done my service as a guard."
The closing line, "kuni ni hemukamo," "will it turn its prow homeward?" pairs with the second line's hemukaru, contrasting the ship's direction outward and home.
Author: Wakaomibe no Hitsuji
Source: Manyoshu
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