Ware o nomi omoitsuruga no ura naraba Kaeru no yama wa madowazaramashi - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我をのみ思ひつるがの浦ならば
かへるの山は惑はざらまし

Roma-ji: Ware o nomi omoitsuruga no ura naraba Kaeru no yama wa madowazaramashi
English Translation: If you are thinking
of me alone at Tsuruga,
then on Kaeru,
the mountain of return,
you would never lose your way
Meaning: If it is the bay of Tsuruga, where you think of me alone, then you would never lose your way on Mount Kaeru, the mountain of return.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Parting Poems 1335

Headnote: "When someone I knew was going for a short while to the province of Koshi, sending an offering for the road."
The poet says that if the traveler thinks only of her at the bay of Tsuruga, there would be no straying on Mount Kaeru. Sending an offering to one going briefly to Koshi, she joins the place name Tsuruga with "omoitsuru," having thought, and Mount Kaeru with "kaeru," to return, hoping that one who truly thinks of her will come straight home.
According to the headnote, she composed this when sending an offering to someone she knew who was going to Koshi for a short time. The next poem is the reply, and the two form an exchange.
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known.

The first line, "Ware o nomi," means "me alone."
The second line, "omoitsuruga no," is a pivot word joining "omoitsuru," having thought, with the place name Tsuruga in Echizen.
The third line, "ura naraba," means "if it is the bay," with "ba" a supposition.
The fourth line, "Kaeru no yama wa," is a pivot word joining Mount Kaeru in Echizen with "kaeru," to return.
The last line, "madowazaramashi," means "you would not lose your way," answering "naraba" in the third line to express a counterfactual.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Wasuru na to iu ni nagaruru Namidagawa ukina o susugu se to mo naranan
Next Poem: Kimi o nomi Itsuhata to omoi koshi nareba yukiki no michi wa harukekaraji o