Akikaze ni yo no fukeyukeba amanogawa kawase ni nami no tachii koso mate - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

秋風に夜の更けゆけば天の川
川瀬に波の立ち居こそ待て

Roma-ji: Akikaze ni yo no fukeyukeba amanogawa kawase ni nami no tachii koso mate
English Translation: In the autumn wind
as the night grows ever late,
on the River of Heaven,
like the waves upon its shoals,
rising, sitting, I await.
Meaning: As the night deepens in the autumn wind, like the waves rising and falling on the shoals of the River of Heaven, I rise and sit again as I wait.
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 143

Headnote: "A folding-screen poem from the reign of Engi"
As the night of Tanabata deepens in the autumn wind, the one who waits rises and sits again restlessly, like the waves rising on the shoals of the River of Heaven. Overlaying the rising and settling of the waves with the restless movements of one who waits, the poem expresses the impatience of awaiting the lovers' meeting. According to the headnote, like the preceding poem, it is a folding-screen poem from the Engi era of Emperor Daigo.
The author, written as Tsurayuki, is Ki no Tsurayuki. The leading compiler of the Kokinshū, he wrote its Kana Preface and the Tosa Diary, and he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "akikaze ni," means "in the autumn wind," carrying on the autumn wind of the preceding poem's third line.
Second line, "yo no fukeyukeba," means "as the night grows late." The same phrase appears as the final line of 147 in this book, and poems on the late night of Tanabata follow.
Third line, "amanogawa," is the River of Heaven, the place of the lovers' meeting. The next poems, 144 and 145, also begin with "amanogawa."
Fourth line, "kawase ni nami no," refers to the waves rising on the river's shoals.
Final line, "tachii koso mate," overlays the rising and settling of the waves with the restless standing and sitting of one who waits. The emphatic particle "koso" is resolved by the realis form "mate." It ends in the same "koso mate" form as the final line of the next poem, "toshi ni koso mate," so the two poems stand side by side.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Hikoboshi no tsuma matsu yoi no akikaze ni ware sae ayana hito zo koishiki
Next Poem: Amanogawa tōki watari ni aranedomo kimi ga funade wa toshi ni koso mate