Hototogisu shinobu uzuki mo suginishi o nao koe oshimu samidare no sora

郭公しのぶ卯月も過ぎにしを
猶声惜しむ五月雨の空

Roma-ji: Hototogisu shinobu uzuki mo suginishi o nao koe oshimu samidare no sora
English Translation: O you cuckoo,
the Fourth Month of muted song
has passed, and yet still
you grudge me your voice beneath
the sky of the Fifth Month rains.
Meaning: The Fourth Month, when the cuckoo sings only in hushed tones, has passed, and still it withholds its voice under the sky of the early summer rains.
Commentary: Summer Poems 197

Headnote: "On the topic of waiting for the cuckoo in the rain"
The headnote shows that this poem was composed on the topic of waiting for the cuckoo in the rain. The cuckoo was thought to sing only in hushed tones in the Fourth Month, but now that month has passed and the Fifth Month has come, it still withholds its song beneath a sky of steady rain. The impatience of one who keeps on waiting comes through.
Like 184 of this book, which lamented the Fifth Month that makes one spend one's heart in waiting while the bird grudges its voice, this poem uses koe oshimu, grudging its voice, and adds the sky of the early summer rains to depict waiting in a world closed in by rain.

First line, “hototogisu”: the bird being waited for.
Second line, “shinobu uzuki mo”: shinobu recalls the shinobine, the hushed song with which the cuckoo was said to sing in the Fourth Month.
Third line, “suginishi o”: nishi combines the perfective nu and the past ki, and o is concessive, though it has passed.
Fourth line, “nao koe oshimu”: still grudging its voice and not singing.
Fifth line, “samidare no sora”: the poem ends on a noun, presenting the sky of the Fifth Month rains and leaving the cheerlessness of waiting as an aftertone.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Hototogisu hanatachibana wa niou tomo mi o u no hana no kakine wasure na
Next Poem: Samidare no harema mo mienu kumoji yori yamahototogisu nakite sugu nari