Ima wa tote yukikaerinuru koe naraba oikaze nite mo kikoemashi ya wa - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今はとて行き帰りぬる声ならば
追ひ風にても聞こえましやは

Roma-ji: Ima wa tote yukikaerinuru koe naraba oikaze nite mo kikoemashi ya wa
English Translation: If it were a voice
that cried "Now it is over"
as it flew back home,
would it reach you even riding
on a following wind
Meaning: If it were a voice saying "This is the end" as it flew away home, would it ever have reached you, even carried on a following wind?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 778

Headnote: "Reply."
In this reply the poet says that if it were a voice departing with "this is the end," it would not reach her even on a following wind. He denies her lament, saying his voice reached her not because it was a farewell but because his feelings remain.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 777.
The poet, Prince Kanemi, was a son of Prince Koretaka, a son of Emperor Montoku, and served as Minister of the Imperial Household among other posts. His poems also appear in the Kokin Wakashū.

The first line, "Ima wa tote," means "saying 'now it ends,'" taking up "ima wa kagiri no" in the fourth line of the preceding poem.
The second line, "yukikaerinuru," means "departing to return home," drawing on wild geese returning north.
The third line, "koe naraba," means "if it were a voice," taking up "koe ni zo arikeru" in the last line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "oikaze nite mo," means "even on a following wind."
The last line, "kikoemashi ya wa," means "would it be heard," with "mashi" a contrary-to-fact auxiliary and "ya wa" a rhetorical question.
Author: Kanramu Ou
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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