Kaerite wa koe ya tagawamu fuetake no tsuraki hitoyo no katami to omoeba - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

帰りては声やたがはむ笛竹の
つらきひとよのかたみと思へば

Roma-ji: Kaerite wa koe ya tagawamu fuetake no tsuraki hitoyo no katami to omoeba
English Translation: Were I to return it,
would its voice be changed, I wonder—
this bamboo flute,
keepsake of a single night,
a single joint of bitter cold
Meaning: If I gave it back, would its voice be different? For I think of this bamboo flute as a keepsake of that one cruel night.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1184

Headnote: "When a friend came to visit and, after many rounds of wine, ran off home, I could not keep him, so I held on to the flute he had brought, and sent this the next morning."
The poet wonders whether the flute's voice would change if it were returned, since he thinks of it as a keepsake of one cruel night. Having kept the flute of a friend who fled the drinking party, the host, letting "hitoyo" mean both one night and one bamboo joint, conveys his reluctance to part with it as a keepsake of the night he did not want to end.
According to the headnote, a friend who came to visit fled after many rounds of wine; unable to keep him, the host held on to the flute he had with him and sent this the next morning. A reply follows in the next poem, forming an exchange about the bamboo flute.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Kaerite wa," means "if it were returned."
The second line, "koe ya tagawamu," means "would its voice change," with "ya" an interrogative binding particle closed by the attributive "mu." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "fuetake no," means "of the flute bamboo," meaning the flute. The same word appears in the third line of the next poem.
The fourth line, "tsuraki hitoyo no," means "of one cruel night," with "hitoyo" joining one night and one bamboo joint.
The last line, "katami to omoeba," means "since I think of it as a keepsake," supplying the reason for the second line in inverted order.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Nara no ha no hamori no kami no mashikeru o shirade zo orishi tatari nasaru na
Next Poem: Hitofushi ni urami na hate so fuetake no koe no uchi ni mo omou kokoro ari