Hatsukari no ware mo sora naru hodo nareba kimi mo monouki tabi ni ya aruran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

初雁の我も空なるほどなれば
君も物憂き旅にやあるらん

Roma-ji: Hatsukari no ware mo sora naru hodo nareba kimi mo monouki tabi ni ya aruran
English Translation: Like the first wild geese,
I too am up in the air
these unsettled days,
and you as well, I wonder—
is this journey weighing on you
Meaning: Like the first wild geese in the sky, my heart too is restless these days—so perhaps for you as well this is a journey you are loath to make.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Parting Poems 1315

Headnote: "When someone said that setting out on this journey somehow felt dreary."
The poet says that since her heart too is up in the air like the first wild geese, perhaps the journey is a weary one for the traveler as well. To one who says the departure feels heavy, she uses the first geese crossing the sky to join her own restless heart before parting with that of the traveler.
According to the headnote, the traveler said that setting out on this journey somehow felt dreary, and she composed this.
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known.

The first line, "Hatsukari no," means "like the first wild geese," which fly across the sky in autumn, leading into "sky" in the second line.
The second line, "ware mo sora naru," means "I too am up in the air," overlaying the sky where geese fly with a restless heart.
The third line, "hodo nareba," means "since it is such a time," with "ba" giving the cause.
The fourth line, "kimi mo monouki," means "you too, reluctant," taking up "feel dreary" in the headnote.
The last line, "tabi ni ya aruran," means "is it such a journey," with the interrogative binding particle "ya" closed by the attributive "ran." "Journey" is linked with the migrating geese.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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