Katsuragi ya kumeji ni watasu iwahashi no nakanaka nite mo kaerinuru kana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

葛城や久米路に渡す岩橋の
なかなかにても帰りぬるかな

Roma-ji: Katsuragi ya kumeji ni watasu iwahashi no nakanaka nite mo kaerinuru kana
English Translation: At Katsuragi,
like the stone bridge they meant to span
over Kumeji,
left broken off halfway,
I've gone home half fulfilled
Meaning: Like the stone bridge they tried to span across Kumeji in Katsuragi, left broken off halfway, I have gone home with everything left half done.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems V 985

Headnote: "Composed after a man who had drifted away remembered her, came to call, talked with her, and went home."
The poet says that like the stone bridge of Kumeji in Katsuragi, broken off halfway, he has gone home with things left half done. He likens the frustration of visiting a woman long estranged and returning after only talking with her to the legendary stone bridge left unfinished.
According to the headnote, a man who had drifted away remembered the woman, came to call, talked with her and went home, and then composed this. It draws on the legend that the Kumeji stone bridge was never finished because the god of Katsuragi worked only at night. The next poem, 986, is the woman's reply, taking up Katsuragi and the Kumeji bridge. Katsuragi is also woven into 953 in this book.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Katsuragi ya," means "at Katsuragi," with "ya" an exclamatory interjectory particle. It is a poetic place in Yamato.
The second line, "kumeji ni watasu," means "spanning Kumeji."
The third line, "iwahashi no," means "of the stone bridge," and up to here forms a preface leading to "nakanaka" in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "nakanaka nite mo," means "left half done," with "nakanaka" joining the bridge broken off in its middle and the sense of all the worse for it.
The last line, "kaerinuru kana," means "I have gone home," with "kana" an exclamatory final particle.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Moru hito no aru to wa kikedo ausaka no seki mo todomenu waga namida kana
Next Poem: Nakataete kuru hito mo naki katsuragi no kumeji no hashi wa ima mo ayaushi