Koi koite kai mo nagisa ni okitsu nami yosete wa yagate tachikaere to ya - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

恋ひ恋ひてかひもなぎさに沖つ波
寄せてはやがて立ち返れとや

Roma-ji: Koi koite kai mo nagisa ni okitsu nami yosete wa yagate tachikaere to ya
English Translation: Loving on and on,
no worth in it, like the shore
where the offshore waves
no sooner have come rolling in
than they are bid to turn back
Meaning: I have loved and loved, to no avail; like the waves from the open sea that break upon the shore, am I to come to you only to be sent straight back again?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 711

Headnote: "Love that comes but does not stay"
Composed on the topic "Love that comes but does not stay." I have loved and loved to no avail, he says; like the offshore waves on the beach, am I to come and at once turn back? Laying over the waves that break upon the shore and instantly withdraw the fleeting love of one sent home as soon as he arrives, the poem reproaches the beloved.
The author, "Provisional Middle Counselor Toshitada," was the son of Provisional Major Counselor Fujiwara no Tadaie. He rose to Provisional Middle Counselor and often held poetry contests and gatherings at his residence. He was the father of Fujiwara no Shunzei, compiler of this anthology.
Two poems after the headnotes of 708 and 709 that name "the house of Provisional Middle Counselor Toshitada," a poem by the master of that house himself is placed.

First line, "koi koite": "loving and loving on."
Second line, "kai mo nagisa ni": "kai" pivots between "worth" and "shell," and "nagisa" between "naki," "without," and "nagisa," "the shore." It layers "there is no worth in my love" with "on the shore where shells lie."
Third line, "okitsu nami": "tsu" is an old particle equal to "no," "the waves of the open sea." The whole upper verse leads into the scene of waves rolling in and back.
Fourth line, "yosete wa yagate": "yagate" means "at once, straightway." The waves rolling in overlap with the lover coming to her.
Fifth line, "tachikaere to ya": "to ya" asks, "are you telling me to?" The waves turning back overlap with being sent home as soon as he comes, reproaching the beloved.
Author: Fujiwara no Toshitada
Source: Senzai Wakashu
Prev Poem: Musubioku Fushimi no sato no kusamakura tokede yaminuru tabi ni mo aru kana
Next Poem: Ikade ware tsurenaki hito ni mi o kaete koishiki hodo o omoishirasen