Kasumi wake ima kari kaeru mono naraba aki kuru made wa koi ya wataran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

霞分けいまかり帰るものならば
秋来るまでは恋ひやわたらん

Roma-ji: Kasumi wake ima kari kaeru mono naraba aki kuru made wa koi ya wataran
English Translation: If now the wild geese,
parting through the hazy mist,
are going back home,
until autumn comes again
shall I go on longing so?
Meaning: If the wild geese are now returning, parting the haze, shall I go on longing for them until autumn comes again?
Commentary: Book Seven Names of Things 415

Headnote: "Makari (metal bowl)"
The poet wonders whether, if the wild geese are now returning north through the haze, he will go on longing for them until they come again in autumn. Singing of regret at geese departing in spring, the poem hides the name "makari" given in the headnote in the run of sounds "ima kari" in the second line. The headnote names the thing hidden in the poem.

First line, "kasumi wake," means "parting the haze."
Second line, "ima kari kaeru," means "the geese now return," hiding the name "makari." Following the warbler of the preceding poem, a spring bird is sung of.
Third line, "mono naraba," means "if it is so," expressing a supposition.
Fourth line, "aki kuru made wa," means "until autumn comes," drawing on the return of the geese in autumn.
Final line, "koi ya wataran," means "shall I go on longing," with "ya" resolved by the attributive "ran."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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