Furusato ni kimi wa izura to machitowaba izure no sora no kasumi to iwamashi - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ふるさとに君はいづらと待ち問はば
いづれの空の霞と言はまし

Roma-ji: Furusato ni kimi wa izura to machitowaba izure no sora no kasumi to iwamashi
English Translation: If at our old home
those who waited ask of me,
"Where has he gone now?"
should I answer him the haze
of which sky, of which sky
Meaning: If at our old home those who waited should ask me, "Where is he?" in which sky's haze should I tell them he has become?
Commentary: Book Twenty Congratulatory Poems 1415

Headnote: "On the day of returning to the former house after the mourning period for someone had ended."
The poet wonders, if asked at the old home where the dead one is, in which sky's haze to say he is. Returning home when mourning has ended, the poet laments how to answer those who waited, asking after one who vanished as the smoke of cremation: which sky's haze could one name?
According to the headnote, it was composed on the day the poet returned to the former house after the mourning period for someone had ended.
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known.

The first line, "Furusato ni," means "at the old home."
The second line, "kimi wa izura to," means "where is he."
The third line, "machitowaba," means "if those who waited should ask," with "ba" a supposition.
The fourth line, "izure no sora no," means "of which sky," echoing "izura" in the second line.
The last line, "kasumi to iwamashi," means "should I say the haze," with "mashi" expressing hesitation. The haze stands for the smoke of cremation.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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