Shiranami wa furusato nare ya momijiba no nishiki o kitsutsu tachikaeruran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

白浪は古里なれや紅葉葉の
錦を着つつ立ち帰るらん

Roma-ji: Shiranami wa furusato nare ya momijiba no nishiki o kitsutsu tachikaeruran
English Translation: Are the white waves then
returning to their native home,
that in autumn leaves,
clad in brocade, again and again
they go back where they belong?
Meaning: Is this the white waves' home, that they keep returning to it again and again, clad in a brocade of autumn leaves?
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Autumn Poems 1130

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Likening the white waves, which keep surging in and drawing back with fallen autumn leaves floating on them, to someone returning home clad in a brocade of autumn leaves, the poet wonders whether this place is the waves' home. Like the preceding poem, 1129, it plays on the saying of returning home clad in brocade.

First line, "shiranami wa," means "the white waves."
Second line, "furusato nare ya," means "is it their home," with "ya" after the perfective form expressing a question. It stands beside the first line of the preceding poem, 1129, "furusato ni," in singing of home. The poem breaks after this second line.
Third line, "momijiba no," means "of the autumn leaves."
Fourth line, "nishiki o kitsutsu," means "clad in brocade, again and again," with "tsutsu" a particle of repetition. It shares the same image with the fourth line of the preceding poem, 1129, "momiji no nishiki."
Final line, "tachikaeruran," means "they keep coming back," with "tachikaeru" layering returning home and the waves surging back.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Furusato ni kaeru to mite ya Tatsutahime momiji no nishiki sora ni kisuran
Next Poem: Momijiba no nagaruru toki wa Takegawa no fuchi no midori mo iro kawaruramu