Akikaze ni nami ya tatsuran ama no kawa wataru se mo naku tsuki no nagaruru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

秋風に波や立つらん天の河
渡る瀬もなく月の流るる

Roma-ji: Akikaze ni nami ya tatsuran ama no kawa wataru se mo naku tsuki no nagaruru
English Translation: In the autumn wind
are waves rising up, I wonder,
on Heaven's River—
with no shallows for its crossing,
the moon flows swiftly on
Meaning: Are waves rising on the River of Heaven in the autumn wind? With no shallows to cross by, the moon is swept along.
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 330

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On seeing the moon."
The poet wonders whether waves are rising in the autumn wind, for the moon is swept along the River of Heaven with no shallows to cross by. The moon moving swiftly across the sky is seen as carried by the wave-tossed River of Heaven.
From 327 to 334, eight poems stand together under the headnote "On seeing the moon." Following the preceding poem, it sings of the moon flowing along the River of Heaven.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Akikaze ni," means "in the autumn wind." 336 of this book opens with the same line.
In the second line, "ya" is an interrogative particle forming a kakarimusubi pattern with the attributive "ran": "are waves rising?" The poem pauses here.
The third line, "ama no kawa," means "the River of Heaven," taking up the first line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "wataru se mo naku," means "with no shallows to cross." 229 of Book Five likewise closes with "wataru se mo nashi," singing of the shallows of the River of Heaven.
The last line, "tsuki no nagaruru," means "the moon flows on," taking up "nagaruru tsuki" in the preceding poem. Ending on the attributive form, it leaves a lingering echo.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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