Asanasana agaru hibari ni nariteshika miyako ni yukite haya kaerikomu

朝な朝な上がるひばりになりてしか
都に行きて早帰り来む

Roma-ji: Asanasana agaru hibari ni nariteshika miyako ni yukite haya kaerikomu
English Translation: Morning after morning
would I were a lark that soars
up into the sky!
Then I'd fly to the capital
and swiftly come back again
Meaning: How I wish I were a lark soaring up every morning! Then I could fly to the capital and quickly come back.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4433

Headnote: "On the third day of the third month, the imperial envoys inspecting the frontier guards and the officials of the Ministry of Military Affairs gathered for a banquet and composed poems; three poems."
Would I were a lark soaring every morning; then I could fly to the capital and come right back: the poem longs for the capital amid duties at Naniwa. According to the headnote, it comes from a banquet on the third day of the third month, when the imperial envoys sent to Naniwa to inspect the guards and the officials of the Ministry of Military Affairs gathered to drink. In the lark soaring high, he entrusts his wish to go freely between the capital and Naniwa.
The author, Abe no Samimaro, a member of the Abe clan, was at this time Senior Assistant of the Shibi Chūdai office and served as the imperial envoy inspecting the guards.

The first line, "asanasana," means "morning after morning."
The second line, "agaru hibari ni," "a lark that soars," names a creature of spring.
The third line, "nariteshika," uses the wishing particle teshika: how I wish to become one. The poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "miyako ni yukite," "going to the capital," shows his longing for Nara.
The closing line, "haya kaerikomu," "I would come back quickly," with the volitional mu; the promise to return at once reveals his position as envoy. The next poem also sings of larks, so the banquet poems answer each other.
Author: Abe no Samimaro
Source: Manyoshu
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