Yū sareba saho no kawara no kawagiri ni tomo madowaseru chidori naku nari - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

夕されば佐保の河原の川霧に
友まどはせる千鳥鳴くなり

Roma-ji: Yū sareba saho no kawara no kawagiri ni tomo madowaseru chidori naku nari
English Translation: When the evening comes,
in the river mist that hangs
on Saho's riverbed,
plovers that have lost their friends
can be heard crying out.
Meaning: As evening falls, in the river mist over the riverbed of Saho, plovers that have lost their companions are crying.
Commentary: Book Four Winter Poems 238

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
At dusk, in the river mist hanging over the riverbed of Saho, plovers that have lost their companions are crying. Through the mist-shrouded riverbed and the voices of plovers seeking their friends, the poem portrays the loneliness of a winter evening.
The author, written as Ki no Tomonori in kana, is Ki no Tomonori. A cousin of Ki no Tsurayuki, he was one of the compilers of the Kokinshū but is said to have died before its completion. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "yū sareba," means "when evening comes." It has the same form as the first line of 236 in this book, "fuyu sareba."
Second line, "saho no kawara no," means "of the riverbed of the Saho River" in Yamato, a place sung of for its plovers.
Third line, "kawagiri ni," means "in the river mist."
Fourth line, "tomo madowaseru," means "having lost their companions."
Final line, "chidori naku nari," means "the plovers seem to be crying," with "nari" an auxiliary of inference from sound. It shares its final line with 224 in this book; where that poem's plovers cried in the river wind of a winter night, these cry in the river mist of evening.
Author: Ki no Tomonori
Source: Shui Wakashu
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