Izukata ni kotozute yarite karigane no au koto mare ni ima wa naruran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いづ方にことづてやりて雁がねの
逢ふことまれに今はなるらん

Roma-ji: Izukata ni kotozute yarite karigane no au koto mare ni ima wa naruran
English Translation: To which way, I wonder,
have you sent your messages,
that like the wild geese
our meetings have grown so rare,
coming only now and then
Meaning: To whom have you been sending your messages, that now, like the wild geese that come but once a year, our meetings have grown so rare?
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems V 980

Headnote: "Composed when a man who had been sending letters to the daughter of Asatsuna Ason began courting another woman, stayed away a long time, and then called in autumn."
The poet asks where he has been sending his messages, that their meetings have become as rare as the wild geese. Drawing on the wild geese said to carry letters, she ironically reproaches him that since he began sending letters to another woman, his visits to her have grown rare.
According to the headnote, a man who had been writing to the daughter of Asatsuna Ason began courting another woman and stayed away a long time, then called in autumn, and she composed this. Asatsuna Ason seems to be Oe no Asatsuna. The wild geese arriving in autumn overlap with the man who called in autumn.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Izukata ni," means "to which direction."
The second line, "kotozute yarite," means "sending messages entrusted to another."
The third line, "karigane no," means "like the wild geese," birds said to carry letters, and since they come once a year in autumn, leading to "mare," rare, in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "au koto mare ni," means "our meetings are rare."
The last line, "ima wa naruran," means "have they now become so," with "ran," a form of "ramu," guessing at a present cause.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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