Mizutori no kamo no ha no iro no aouma o kyō miru hito wa kagiri nashi to iu

水鳥の鴨の羽の色の青馬を
今日見る人は限りなしといふ

Roma-ji: Mizutori no kamo no ha no iro no aouma o kyō miru hito wa kagiri nashi to iu
English Translation: Like the waterfowl,
like the plumage of the duck,
the blue-gray horses;
those who see them on this day
have life without end, they say
Meaning: They say that those who see the blue horses today, colored like the feathers of a waterfowl duck, will have life without end.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4494

Headnote: none. The left note reads: "The above poem was composed in advance by Ōtomo no Yakamochi, Middle Controller of the Right, for the banquet of the seventh day. However, because of the Ninnō ceremony, princes and lords were instead summoned to the palace on the sixth, given wine, feasted, and rewarded. For this reason it was not presented."
They say those who see the blue horses today, colored like a duck's feathers, will have life without end: a poem blessing the New Year blue horse festival. The left note says Yakamochi composed it in advance for the banquet on the seventh, but because the Ninnō ceremony moved the banquet up to the sixth, it was never presented. It draws on the court rite in which seeing blue horses on the seventh of the first month warded off evil and granted long life.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, son of Ōtomo no Tabito, was at this time Middle Controller of the Right.

The first line, "mizutori no," "of the waterfowl," leads to "duck."
The second line, "kamo no ha no iro no," hypermetric, means "the blue-black color of a duck's feathers."
The third line, "aouma o," names horses of a bluish-black coat, led out at the festival of the seventh.
The fourth line, "kyō miru hito wa," means "those who see them today."
The closing line, "kagiri nashi to iu," "they say their life is boundless," ends with a blessing drawn from the lore of the rite.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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