Ashima yori miyuru Nagara no hashibashira mukashi no ato no shirobe narikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

葦間より見ゆる長柄の橋柱
昔の跡のしろべなりけり

Roma-ji: Ashima yori miyuru Nagara no hashibashira mukashi no ato no shirobe narikeri
English Translation: Glimpsed among the reeds,
the pillars of the bridge
of Nagara stand—
the very guide that leads us
to the traces of the past.
Meaning: The bridge pillars of Nagara, glimpsed between the reeds, are what guide us to the traces of long ago.
Commentary: Book Eight Miscellaneous Poems I 468

Headnote: "On a painting for a screen in the Tenryaku reign that showed a few remaining pillars of the Nagara Bridge"
The poet says that the pillars of the Nagara Bridge, glimpsed among the reeds, are a guide to the traces of the past. The headnote shows it was written for a painting on a screen in Emperor Murakami's reign, which depicted a few remaining pillars of the Nagara Bridge. In an old bridge that has rotted away to its pillars, he finds a means of recalling the past. Like the old pine of the Kawara-in in 461 of this book, it sings of things that keep the remnants of the past.
The author, written as Fujiwara no Kiyotada, is Fujiwara no Kiyotada. A son of Fujiwara no Kanesuke, the Tsutsumi Middle Counselor, he served as Governor of Kii, among other posts. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
The Nagara Bridge spanned the Yodo River in Settsu; it is named in the kana preface of the Kokinshū as an example of something decayed and was held a symbol of things grown old.
The final line of the main text reads "shirobe narikeri," which does not match "shirube narikeri" in the line giving the reading. The main text is followed here, but "shirobe" is thought to be a miscopying of "shirube," and the translation and commentary follow the meaning "shirube," a guide.

First line, "ashima yori," means "from among the reeds."
Second line, "miyuru Nagara no," means "seen, of Nagara," Nagara being a place in Settsu.
Third line, "hashibashira," means "the bridge pillars," and the poem breaks here. It describes a bridge rotted away so that only its pillars remain.
Fourth line, "mukashi no ato no," means "of the traces of the past."
Final line, "shirobe narikeri," means "was a guide, I see," with "keri" expressing a sigh of realization.
Author: Fujiwara no Kiyotada
Source: Shui Wakashu
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