Kawagiri no fumoto o komete tachinureba sora ni zo aki no yama wa miekeru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

川霧の麓をこめて立ちぬれば
空にぞ秋の山は見えける

Roma-ji: Kawagiri no fumoto o komete tachinureba sora ni zo aki no yama wa miekeru
English Translation: Since the river mist
has risen and wrapped around
the foot of the hills,
it is high up in the sky
that the autumn peaks appear.
Meaning: Because the river mist has risen and wrapped the foot of the hills, the autumn mountains seem to float in the sky.
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 202

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Because the river mist has risen and wrapped the foot of the hills, the mountains in their autumn colors seem to float in the sky. The contrast between the foot of the hills hidden in mist and the vivid foliage on the heights creates a dreamlike scene.
The author, written as Fukayabu, is Kiyohara no Fukayabu. A poet of the early to mid-Heian period, he was the grandfather of Kiyohara no Motosuke and the great-grandfather of Sei Shōnagon. He was also known as a skilled koto player and is counted among the Later Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "kawagiri no," refers to the mist rising from a river. Following "saho no kawagiri" in 186 and 193 of this book, river mist is sung of again.
Second line, "fumoto o komete," means "wrapping the foot of the hills."
Third line, "tachinureba," means "since it has risen," with "ba" marking an established condition.
Fourth line, "sora ni zo aki no," means "in the sky, autumn's," with the emphatic particle "zo," which is resolved by "keru" in the final line.
Final line, "yama wa miekeru," means "the mountains appeared." Whereas in 193 the river mist was resented for hiding the autumn leaves, here the mist hiding the foot of the hills makes the colored heights rise into the sky, reversing what the mist hides and what it reveals. The poem closes on the contrast of below and above, the foot beneath the mist and the mountain in the sky.
Author: Kiyohara no Fukayabu
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Eda nagara mite o kaeran momijiba wa oran hodo ni mo chiri mo koso sure
Next Poem: Mizuumi ni aki no yamabe o utsushite wa hatabari hiroki nishiki to zo miru