Nami no ue ni ato ya wa miyuru mizutori no ukite henuran toshi wa kazu ka wa - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

波の上にあとやは見ゆる水鳥の
うきて経ぬらん年は数かは

Roma-ji: Nami no ue ni ato ya wa miyuru mizutori no ukite henuran toshi wa kazu ka wa
English Translation: On the waves' surface
can any track be seen at all—
the water bird
floats on, sorrowful, through years
that are hardly worth the counting
Meaning: Can any track be seen on the surface of the waves? The years that you, like a water bird, have spent afloat in sorrow—are they even worth the counting?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 837

Headnote: "Reply."
The poet asks whether any track can be seen on the waves, and whether the years spent floating like a water bird count for anything. To one who lamented years of letters alone, this reply curtly retorts that no trace remains on water and that those years are hardly worth counting.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 836, taking up its "water bird," "tracks," and "passing the years."
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Nami no ue ni," means "on the waves."
The second line, "ato ya wa miyuru," means "can any track be seen—no," with "ya wa" a rhetorical binding particle closed by the attributive "miyuru." As in the preceding poem, "ato" means both tracks and handwriting. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "mizutori no," means "like the water bird," taking up "mizutori no," the first line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "ukite henuran," means "that you have spent afloat," with "uki" meaning both "floating" and "sorrowful."
The last line, "toshi wa kazu ka wa," means "do those years even count," with "ka wa" rhetorical.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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