Ada nari na tori no kōri ni oriiru wa shita yori tokuru koto wa shiranu ka - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あだなりなとりのこほりに下りゐるは
下より解くることは知らぬか

Roma-ji: Ada nari na tori no kōri ni oriiru wa shita yori tokuru koto wa shiranu ka
English Translation: How fleeting it is!
For the birds alighted there
upon the ice—
do they not know that it melts
from beneath where they are perched?
Meaning: How precarious! The birds that have alighted on the ice—do they not know that it melts from below?
Commentary: Book Seven Names of Things 385

Headnote: "Natori no kōri (Natori District)"
The poet frets over the precariousness of birds alighting on the ice, asking whether they do not know it melts from below. Singing of the danger of birds resting on such uncertain footing, the poem hides the name of Natori District given in the headnote in the run of sounds "na tori no kōri" from the first to the second line. The headnote names the thing hidden in the poem.
The author, written as Shigeyuki, is Minamoto no Shigeyuki. Of the Seiwa Genji, he traveled through the provinces holding successive provincial posts and is said to have died in Mutsu. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "ada nari na," means "how fleeting," with "na" an exclamatory particle. The poem pauses here.
Second line, "tori no kōri ni," means "the birds on the ice." With "na" at the end of the first line, it hides the name "Natori no kōri." The next poem, 386, also hides the place name Natori, so two poems on Natori stand together.
Third line, "oriiru wa," means "that have alighted and stay."
Fourth line, "shita yori tokuru," means "it melts from below," echoing "ori" (alight) of the third line with "shita" (below).
Final line, "koto wa shiranu ka," means "do they not know," with "ka" expressing a question.
Author: Minamoto no Shigeyuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Kuki mo ha mo mina midori naru fukazeri wa arau ne nomi ya shiroku miyu ran
Next Poem: Obotsuka na kumo no kayoiji mite shi gana tori nomi yukeba atohaka mo nashi